Accidentally in Love
by i.death-chan
Summary: [AU]She worked as a servant for the Uchiha family. There, she catches the eye of a certain Uchiha, and both of them fall accidentally in love. [SasuSaku. Minor NejiTen, ShikaIno, and NaruHina]
1. Saved

Um… this is my 2nd story. (Yay…?)

So now it's this _and _Secret of the Dragon! Please don't kill me if I can't update as much…

This chapter may be a little short, but I promise they'll get longer.

Summary: (AU) She worked as a servant for the Uchiha family. There, she catches the eye of a certain Uchiha, and both of them fall accidentally in love. SasuSaku. Minor NejiTen, ShikaIno, and NaruHina.

Rated: T (PG-13) for mild language in later chapters and themes not appropriate for people that… aren't teens.

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

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* * *

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**Accidentally in Love Chapter 1: Saved.**

Haruno Sakura's family was far from perfect.

Her mother and father were both chuunin, unlike her. When she was little, they had decided that the life of a kunoichi was not fit for her. At first, Sakura had protested, but her parents had prevailed in the end.

Her parents may have been ninja, but their pay was not that great. They were only a low-ranking chuunin, so they only went on unimportant D- and C-ranked missions.

Despite all the financial problems the Haruno family met, they were still one big happy family.

* * *

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" 17-year old Haruno Sakura burst into the small Haruno household. Today was an unusually happy day; Nara Shikamaru, of the Nara clan, had asked her best friend, Yamanaka Ino out. Ino had squealed in joy when Shikamaru had asked her out, Sakura had witnessed it firsthand.

A quiet living room greeted her, and the pink-haired teen's eyebrows met together. This was unusual. She was almost positive that her parents didn't have a mission…

"Please, give me more time…!" Arguing voices drifted from the kitchen.

Cautiously, Sakura stepped into the kitchen, where she saw her parents surrounded by the ninja police forces. "Kaa-san? Tousa? What's going on?"

Everyone looked up, startled. They had not noticed the teen enter the cramped kitchen.

A hard-faced jounin stepped out of the circle surrounding her mother and father. "Is this your daughter, Megumi-san? Kiyo-san?"

Sakura's father looked up and glared at the jounin, his usually soft brown eyes hard. "Sakura-chan had nothing to do with this."

"Mother, what's going on?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura, we can explain-" Sakura's mother was rudely cut off by another jounin.

"Sakura-san, your parents have failed to pay their taxes for the 8th time in a row," the jounin said. "We need to arrest them."

"Wh-what?" Sakura asked, dumbfounded. "What about me?"

"I believe you're not a kunoichi, Sakura-san?"

"Iie… I'm not…" Sakura frowned. Where was this leading to?

"Then… you will not be arrested. You're a minor anyways, so you will have to get a job to pay off your parents' debts," The jounin decided.

"So Sakura won't go to jail with us?" Sakura's mother repeated.

The jounin nodded.

"Good," Sakura's mother sighed. "Then we can go in peace."

"What?" Sakura sputtered as her parents were led away. "You're just going to _leave _me?"

"Sakura, listen to me." Haruno Megumi usually was a flexible person, but when it came to her daughter, she was as strict as can be. "We will get out easier than most Konoha citizen. You're a smart girl, we'll see you soon."

Sakura didn't say anything. Numbly, she watched as the leader ninja made foreign hand seals. She gazed helplessly into her parents' eyes as they disappeared in a puff of gray smoke.

That night, the headstrong Haruno Sakura cried.

* * *

The next day, some random ninjas came into the Haruno household and took everything in it, to pay off some of the debt, they claimed. They were kind enough to leave a futon and some dishes and forks, to provide her with some of her needs.

"Some needs," Sakura grumbled, tugging on her vibrant pink hair in frustration. "They could have left me with some food, or money."

Getting up resignedly, she trudged out of the now empty house, into the streets of Konoha to find a job.

**Wanted: Waitress. Must be from ages 16-20. Part-time or full-time. Inquire inside.**

Sakura stared cautiously at the red sign posted at the door, then took a look in the building. She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

_'It's a freaking bar!!!'_

_**'It's going to save our asses and give us money!!!'**_ As always, Inner Sakura found a way to fight back.

The bar wasn't as bad as Sakura thought it would be. Although the air stank of alcohol and some people were dancing in such a… weird way, it looked decent enough.

"Um… excuse me," Sakura said nervously to a waitress with short red hair, who smiled in return.

"How can I help you?"

"Ano… do you know where I can apply for the job as a waitress?" Sakura fidgeted with the hem of her short black skirt.

The waitress smiled at her. "Sure! I'll take you there."

Sakura followed the waitress as they maneuvered around the crowd, until they reached a big door.

"Good luck! I have a feeling that you'll need it," the waitress said, giving her a reassuring smile.

Sakura feebly smiled back, and after muttering a grateful 'thank-you', timidly opened the door and walked in.

A tall thin man with a pointy chin greeted her and analyzed her carefully. "So you want to be a waitress here?"

Sakura nodded numbly. Although this guy was a bit intimidating-looking, he sounded like a nice guy.

"Why do you want to work here?"

_My mom and dad are in jail so I need to take care of myself. _Even in her head these words sounded stupid. "Financial problems."

The man icy demeanor melted into one of warm concern. "Really, eh? Then from this day forth, you can call me Aki, and I will be your new manager."

* * *

Working at Konoha's Blooming Lotus bar wasn't that bad, if you counted out the rude costumers, the crazy dancers, and the drunk perverts.

All Sakura had to do was take the drinks and serve the costumers, and most of the time, she served people who could take care of themselves. Some of the younger men stared lustfully at what Tsuki called her 'curvylicious' body, but she decided to shrug those looks off and ignore the owners of the looks.

"See, all you have to do is smile and look pretty," Tsuki, the redhead Sakura had befriended the first day, joked.

Sakura giggled at the 19-year old. "Geez, Tsuki-chan, you make it sound like this job is no big deal." Sakura, a naturally smart and fast learner, went over to a table where 2 hunched people were arguing. "Here's your sake, sir!"

The people looked up from their argument, and Sakura noticed that both of them looked a little tipsy. "Hey, little missy. Come here."

Sakura froze. She hadn't been instructed on how to handle _these _kinds of situations. The drunk _pervert _wanted to do something to her!

'_Just kick him _there_ so that he can't procreate,' _suggested Inner Sakura.

_**'Baka, they're ninja. Can't you see their headbands?'**_ She frantically looked around for Tsuki; no sign of her. The rest of the staff were too busy to leave their stations, so there were looking at their youngest member of the staff worriedly. 

Defeated, she was about to step closer. Smirking in a dirty way, the shorter of the men was about to touch her cheek when Tsuki materialized in between the men and Sakura.

"Sorry, sir. Sakura's just here to serve drinks." Tsuki said in a falsely pleasant tone. Turning back to Sakura she added in an undertone, "Sakura get out of here. These people are ninja from the Uchiha police force, so those dirty bastards can do whatever they want."

"And who are you to tell us what we can and can't do!?" the ninja asked.

"Really now, is someone from the prestigious Uchiha clan supposed to be acting like this?" Tsuki asked, the bite in her tone was getting more obvious by the second.

The man scowled at her. "Look, I just want to have a nice _conversation _with this pretty girl."

Tsuki's eyes flashed. "She is a minor." She turned to Sakura. "Run, Sakura. Aki-san will understand your situation. Just run to your home and lock the door."

Sakura had heard of the famous Uchiha clan before. They were the police force, and they were supposedly very strong. Although they were well mannered, there were some that had branched off from the clan to terrorize others with their last name. Obviously, the two that Tsuki was defending Sakura from were one of those terrorizers.

Without saying a word, she bolted out of the bar. When she reached the door, she looked back and gasped. Tsuki was on the floor wincing. A kunai was embedded in her thigh, and the ninja were running after her. Fortunately, they were intoxicated so they couldn't run as fast, or use their abilities.

Tsuki managed to cry, "Sakura, RUN!"

And run did our little cherry blossom do.

Blindly, she ran through the dark alleys of Konoha's red light district, still hearing the drunken shouts of the people that were after her. Suddenly, a sharp pain made her falter in her steps. Sakura looked down to see a shuriken in her forearm, and it was bleeding. Hurriedly, she tore off a piece of her worn skirt and hastily wrapped it around her arm. From her parents, she had learned some shinobi basics; spilling blood will just mark a path for the enemy.

Because she was blinded with her tears, she didn't see the raven-haired person that was looking at her oddly, and as a result, she collided into him.

* * *

Uchiha Itachi was the type of person whose curiosity could be piqued so easily, but when a girl with _pink_ hair collided into him crying, he was immediately inquisitive.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a monotone.

The girl looked up from her tears, almost frantically. When she spotted the Uchiha fan of his back, she stumbled back. "No! Stay away from me!"

Itachi frowned. Usually, girls went head over heels with googly hearts in their eyes when they saw him, even the depressed ones. Not that he minded. "What's wrong?"

She pointed almost accusingly at the insignia on his back. "You're one of _them_! I won't let you _touch _me, after what you did to Tsuki-chan!"

Itachi, a smart person took a glance at the girl. His fan scared her. She had a waitress outfit on, from the Blooming Lotus bar. She also had a shuriken protruding from her arm.

"I'm not one of those guys." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at him, the tears never ceased.

As if on cue, the people after her appeared. "Aha!" one exclaimed triumphantly. "Now we've got y-" All the color drained from the peoples' faces. "I-Itachi-sama! What a pleasure to see you in Konoha's red light district!" The thinner of the two squeaked.

"Aa, what a surprise, Nira," Itachi said coolly. "What business might you have with a harmless 17-year old?"

"So… You're not with _them_?" All 3 pairs of eyes turned to the pink-haired girl, whose tears had stopped running down her face.

"I told you before, girl." Itachi replied coolly. Then he turned his unflinching gaze back to the two that were after Sakura. "As I was saying, what business might you have with a harmless 17-year old?"

"We just wanted to have a little fu-"

"Fun." Itachi said coldly. "_This _is what you call _fun_. You are a disgrace to the Uchiha clan."

He disappeared, and then he reappeared behind Sakura. "You don't want to see this." He delicately hit a pressure point on Sakura's neck, and the results were immediate. Her eyelids fluttered and she slumped in his arms. After he set her gently in a corner, he turned toward the cowards that dared themselves to call themselves 'Uchiha'.

* * *

Itachi strolled through the gates of the Uchiha district with the girl cradled in his arms. Ignoring the odd and curious stares, he made his way toward his parents' room. Without bothering to knock, he went in and dumped the girl into his father's arms, who wore a look of shock on his face.

"Uchiha Itachi, what is going on?" Uchiha Fugaku asked, his voice shaking with fury. Obviously, he had the wrong idea.

"Relax, father. She was a girl who was running away from the cowards who still call themselves 'Uchiha.'" Itachi said in a bored tone. "I went to the bar she worked at to get some information."

* * *

_Flashback_

_After giving the cowards a good beating, Itachi walked to the bar the girl worked at. He saw a redhead who had a bandage around her thigh. This must have been the Tsuki girl that pink-haired girl was talking about._

_"Are you Tsuki?" _

_The redhead's head whipped up, and her eyes narrowed at the sign on his back. "What do you want?" She snapped rudely. "If you're one of those perverted drunken thugs that think they could do whatever they want just because they're part of the Uchiha police force-"_

_"No, I saved her from those thugs."_

_Tsuki's face softened immediately. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that she's grown to become like a sister to me." She bowed in gratitude. "Everyone's grown on her, and they're all concerned."_

_"That won't be a problem anymore," he replied smoothly. "She's somewhere safe right now."_

_Yeah, in the deserted alley he had knocked her out in._

_Tsuki bowed once again. _

_"I will take her to my family today. She needs to get that shuriken wound treated."_

_Immediately, her face crinkled in worry again. "Oh, is she alright?"_

_He shrugged. "Bad for a regular person, maybe, but she'll recover."_

_He began to walk away, before stopping. "By the way, what is her name?"_

_Tsuki's eyes softened. "You mean the girl that's like the sister we all never had?" She smiled. "It's Sakura. Haruno Sakura."_

_End Flashback

* * *

_

"Her name's Haruno Sakura, father."

"Haruno?" Uchiha Mikoto asked. "Fugaku, that was the family I was telling you about. Megumi was one of my good friends; I heard about their situation a day ago!"

"What are you going to do then?" Itachi asked.

"Why do you care?" Mikoto asked curiously. "You're not the type to be this concerned."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I've taken an… interest in her. Besides, I want to know how someone that's not a shinobi can survive a shuriken coated with one of the world's most deadliest poisons, especially when it's in your skin through a couple of layers of skin."

Fugaku's eyes flew towards the blood-soaked bandage. "Itachi, your mother and I will take care of this. Sasuke's waiting for you at the gates. You're mission is starting in an hour."

"Aa." Itachi stood to leave. Taking a glance at the girl, he nodded approvingly at her. _'I wonder how Sasuke will react…? Almost everyone's taking a liking to her, even dad.' _He took a glance at his father and immediately knew by the look in his eyes that her dad approved Sakura. _'Even _I _am… concerned…'

* * *

_

At the gates, Itachi spotted Sasuke's hunched form and ANBU vest.

"Nii-san, where were you?" Sasuke demanded. "The mission starts soon."

"Gomen, otouto, I had some… businessto take care of." Itachi replied carelessly. "Where's the other person going on this mission… was it Naruto?"

"The dobe's coming."

As if on cue, a yellow and orange blur whizzed by the two Uchiha brothers, shouting "Race you, Sasuke-teme!"

Sighing, Sasuke said, "Let's go."

The brothers bounded off out of Konoha, trying to catch up with, and mock Konoha's number one loudmouth ninja.

_'Be safe… _Sakura._'

* * *

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Good? Bad? Keep? Burn?

In case of misunderstandings, I just want to get thing one thing straight. This is not ItaSaku, and will not have any hints of it. In the later chapters, you'll see it's more like a sister/brother type of relationship.

Thanks for reading :D


	2. Life as a Servant

Another update! … yay…?

I might've updated a little later than I wanted but an update is an update… right?

**WARNING: There's not much SasuSaku in this chapter… I'm going to wait until there's more action.**

**sakura5584**-san: you mean cliché? Yeah… I want all my stories to be original. :D

**chibimasta27**-san: One word-arigato. I know my beginning for SoD wasn't that good, but yeah… I improved.

**lolsuzie**-san: I will, I promise. I'll make descriptions of them as I introduce them.

**WhITE DoRiAn**-san: Good question. Sasuke's _is _going to be an ice block but not as much. I like Sasuke as an ice block. :D Not the arrogant attitude, but you know, cold and all that.

**UchihaSakura87**-san: Thanks for complimenting! It's nice to know a writer I respect is actually reading one of my stories...

**xxPaper Heartxx**-san: I won't mind if you spork innocent peoples' eyes out! I'm a sadist, or my friends say.

**Brink of Despair**-san: SASUSAKU all the way, man. Itachi and Sakura have a brother/sister relationship.

**smileforme x3**-san: YES! She's going to become a ninja SOON. Just look out for a couple of catastrophes and tragedies. (No one important's going to die, though.)

All other reviews and notes are appreciated too. I read all of them with happiness since people would actually spend time reading my junk.

Enjoy.

**Standard disclaimer applied.**

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Chapter 2: Life as a servant**

_Last time on AiL:_

_At the gates, Itachi spotted Sasuke's hunched form and ANBU vest. _

_"Nii-san, where were you?" Sasuke demanded. "The mission starts soon."_

_"Gomen, otouto, I had some… business to take care of." Itachi replied carelessly. "Where's the other person going on this mission… was it Naruto?"_

_"The dobe's coming."_

_As if on cue, a yellow and orange blur whizzed by the two Uchiha brothers, shouting "Race you, Sasuke-teme!"_

_Sighing, Sasuke said, "Let's go."_

_The brothers bounded off out of Konoha, trying to catch up with, and mock Konoha's number one loudmouth ninja._

'Be safe… Sakura.'

* * *

She saw black. 

Then red.

Then a whole bunch of hazy colors.

Then she saw a pair of dark eyes.

_'Mom…' _Sakura thought groggily. "Mom!"

The person's eyes gazed at her with a shocked expression. "Mom," Sakura went on breathlessly, throwing her arms around the woman's slender neck. "I had the _weirdest _dream _ever_! You got arrested, and I had to work at a bar with drunken perverts, and then they hit me with a weapon, and this _guy _saved me, and…"

Her hazy vision cleared, and she didn't see her parents' milky white walls and simple furniture, or her pink-wallpapered walls. Instead, she saw an…

"Uchiha crest?"

Slowly, she uncurled her arms from the woman's neck, with her eyes closed. "You're not my mother, are you…?"

"No, that is my wife, Uchiha Mikoto."

Her eyes opened and saw a man in his early 40s. His dark raven black hair blended completely with the navy blue walls and his face was set into a frown.

"Now Fugaku, Sakura probably didn't mean that," the woman scolded. "She's probably experiencing the aftereffects of the poison."

Sakura bowed her head and stared at the dark blue blankets on her legs. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I thought you were my mother…"

The woman smiled. "It's quite all right, Sakura."

"How do you know my name?" Sakura's gaze snapped up in surprise when the woman said her name.

The woman chuckled. "The person who saved you was my eldest son."

Sakura's mouth hung open in an 'o'. "Oh."

Then she read the time. "Oh! I _must _get to the bar!"

She made an effort to get up, but her right arm stopped her. Sakura grimaced in pain, her green eyes darkened as pain shot up her arm.

The woman smiled and gently and pushed Sakura down. "I talked to Aki-san, from the bar you worked at. Your services aren't needed there anymore."

Sakura's mouth hung open. "What? W-Why? I needed that job… I need to pay off all my parents'-"

"-Debts," the man finished. "Am I right?"

Sakura looked away in shame.

"It's alright. We've found you a new job." The woman said.

Sakura looked at the raven-haired woman curiously. "You did?"

The woman smiled, her dark onyx eyes twinkling. "Welcome to the Uchiha family, Miss Haruno Sakura-chan."

* * *

Working for the Uchiha family wasn't that bad, Sakura learned in the next week. 

She learned that most of the servants worked in the Uchiha residence were working to pay off debts or because they were obsessed with people called Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi and wanted the excuse to be near them.

Since Sakura was a fast learner, she learned the basics of being a servant. Since Sakura had all the maids' basics crammed in her head within a couple of days, her jobs were simple; clean in the clan leader's family's rooms and run errands for Uchiha Mikoto, the woman she had met the first day. Fugaku, the clan leader, seemed to have approved of her as well. Most of the maids were nice and helpful, and the nastier ones, Sakura avoided with good advice from the nice ones.

Right now, she was cleaning one of the rooms. It was pretty simple, although her injured arm was keeping her down. She blew a stray hair out of her face; the messy bun she had hastily made in the morning didn't do anything to keep her hair out of her face.

Standing up in contentment, she observed the room she had cleaned. Mikoto had said something about her sons coming back from a mission; she must've wanted everything to be perfect.

She bunched up the bottom of her 'uniform'. It had been Mikoto's old kimono from years ago. None of the other servants' uniforms fit her petite frame, so it was decided that Mikoto's kimonos from years ago would fit the best. She gazed down. Yards of dark blue silk patterned with pale pink cherry blossom petals covered her from her ankles to up halfway up her neck in the style of a traditional kimono, except that it had a Chinese-style collar. There were slits in between the body and sleeves of the kimono, showing off parts of her delicate, slender arms. There were slits going up from the sides of her dress, reaching up to her knees so that she could work and move more freely.

She exited the room and was about to enter Mikoto and Fugaku's chambers when a hand gripped her injured arm.

* * *

Sasuke and Itachi trudged down the main roads of Konoha, following a hyper yellow and orange blur. 

"Tell me, little brother," Itachi sighed. "How does your friend stay this energetic?"

Sasuke grunted. "Because he's a _dobe_."

"I heard that!" came the loud voice of Naruto. His unruly blond hair was messier than ever, probably because of the battle he had had with a missing nin, and his bright orange and black outfit was tattered. However, his bright electric-blue eyes were still as energetic as ever.

Sasuke grabbed the collar of Naruto's jacket and started to drag him to Hokage Tower. "C'mon, dobe. We have to give Tsunade our mission reports."

"Why?" Naruto whined. "I need to get to Ichiraku! And Hinata-chan's probably waiting for me."

"Your fiancée can wait ten more minutes without you," Sasuke deadpanned. "Let's go before the Hokage busts a blood vessel waiting for us."

"Good job, Sasuke, Itachi, Naruto." Tsunade said. "Good job on the mission… performed excellently, as always, Uchiha brothers."

"What about me?" Naruto piped up annoyingly. "I can do a _way _better job than Sasuke-teme!"

Tsunade's eye twitched. "Isn't Hinata waiting for you?"

Naruto's eyes widened animatedly and he ran out the window screaming, "I'm coming, Hinata-chan!"

"Dobe," the Uchiha brothers muttered simultaneously as they started to exit.

"Oh, and Itachi?" Tsunade called.

Itachi turned around, a small questioning look in his usually calm demeanor.

"She's okay. I believe she got up a couple of days ago. Mikoto-san hired her as a servant. Claimed that she and Fugaku-san had taken a liking to her."

Itachi turned with a nod. "Thank you, Godaime-sama."

When they exited Tsunade's office, Sasuke asked, "What was that about?"

Itachi started walking ahead of his brother. "You'll see soon, foolish little brother."

* * *

All the clan members bowed respectfully as the two Uchiha prodigies entered the Uchiha compound. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the signs of fear and respect and headed directly with Itachi toward his room. 

An unfamiliar back was turned toward them. Sasuke didn't recognize the maid, but Itachi did.

The girl had vibrant pink hair tied up into a messy bun, and she was bunching up her skirts from the tatami floors. In fact, her dress looked just like…

The girl winced; Sasuke had grabbed her by her wounded arm. "What are you doing in my mother's clothing?" He growled, his Sharingan automatically turning on.

Sakura bit her bottom lip and scrunched up her face. "P-Please. Let go of my arm. You're hurting me."

"Sasuke, let go of Sakura-chan's arm!"

Mikoto ran towards Sakura, who had her arm relinquished from Sasuke's strong grip. She crouched next to the kneeling teen that was gripping her arm. "Sasuke-kun, did you have to do that?" Mikoto scolded. "She was just recovering."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

The girl stood up, arm hanging limply to the side, and bowed to Sasuke, not heeding Mikoto's command to sit back down. "You must be Uchiha Sasuke-sama. Mikoto-sama has told me about you. Nice to meet you, I'm Haruno Sakura, Mikoto-sama's personal servant."

Sasuke was ashtonished when the girl… Sakura… didn't gawk at him or his brother. Sakura was bowing to Itachi too. "And you must be Uchiha Itachi-sama. I never got the opportunity to properly thank you for saving me the other day."

Itachi graced the girl with one of his few small smiles. "It was no problem, Sakura-san. What I'm surprised by is how you could survive the deadly poison crusted with the shuriken. Most shinobi cannot survive that, much less a regular person."

Sakura flushed and stared at her feet. Was that a compliment?

"Sasuke," Mikoto explained patiently, "Sakura was wearing my old kimono because none of the other servants' fit her."

"Oh." What a very intelligent answer from a very intelligent Uchiha.

* * *

Sakura was cleaning up after dinner. Her injured arm throbbed, but she ignored the pain. _'Ignore the pain, ignore the pain.'_

She carried a stack of delicate glass plates on each hand, trying to balance them. Looking over the numerous plates she was juggling, she realized she needed to go down stairs. Inwardly, she groaned.

Taking a hesitant step, she tiptoed forward and went down a step. Then another. Then another, until she reached the bottom of the stairs. She was making her way towards the kitchen when she slipped on the newly waxed floor.

She squeaked in surprise as the plates flew in all directions. Pumped by a sudden blast of adrenaline, she ran forward and caught all the plates. She sighed in contentment when she caught the last of the plates.

But wait… weren't there 10 plates on her right hand…?

"Oh my gosh!" she cried in shock as she watched the last plate fall in slow motion. Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited for the shatter of the plate.

It never came.

A hand had caught it inches before it touched the floor.

She looked up when she didn't hear the crash of the last plate. "N-Neji-san!"

The Hyuuga prodigy smirked. "What're you doing here, Sakura?"

"No Neji, what are _you _doing _here_?" Sakura asked disbelievingly.

"Hyuuga-sama is here to discuss business relations with the Uchiha family," a voice cut through.

Sakura bowed her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Ami-san." She muttered toward a fellow servant.

"You shouldn't call Hyuuga-sama by his first name, Sakura-san," the maid said snidely, giving sidelong admiring glances toward the white-eyed teen.

_**'Stupid Ami!'** _Inner Sakura roared. **_'Everyone's watching!'_**

Inner Sakura was right. Fugaku, Mikoto, Sasuke, Itachi, and some representatives of the Hyuuga clan, including Hyuuga Hiashi, had been watching.

Before she could utter an apology, Neji cut her off, placing the plate on top of her pile.

"It's all right. Sakura is an old family friend." Neji said calmly.

"That's right", a female voice piped up. A brown-eyed girl with her chestnut-brown hair pinned up in bun had appeared next to Neji. "After all, she's the one who got Neji and me together."

"Well then," Fugaku said, obviously curious that someone like Sakura could know a member of the prestigious Hyuuga clan. "Sakura, why don't you take the plates to the kitchen and we'll have some questions for you later on?"

Sakura nodded and proceeded to the kitchen.

"I-I'll help." A shy voice interrupted. "Sakura-chan looks like she needs the help."

"Hinata-chan?" Sakura's gaze turned toward the Hyuuga heiress, who was twisting a finger around her short violet-colored hair.

"P-Please… I insist." Hinata took a small stack of plates from Sakura, and so did Tenten and Neji.

"No, please give them back," Sakura insisted. "It's my duty as a-"

"-Servant?" Tenten interrupted. "Sakura-chan, you're my best friend. As a future Hyuuga, it's my free choice to help a _servant_."

Sakura smiled inwardly. So Neji had finally proposed to Tenten?

Without a word, she and her friends took the plates to the kitchen.

* * *

Itachi was the first to speak and break through the dreaded silence. "So, Sakura-san. How do you know these people?" 

Sakura shifted when all eyes turned toward her. "Well… I've known all of these guys for years. I got Naruto and Hinata-chan together-with the permission of Hiashi-sama-3 years ago, and then we got Tenten-chan and Neji together a couple months later. We're really good friends… but I didn't know that they were getting _married_ so soon!"

Sakura's gaze turned accusing toward Neji and Tenten, and the weapons mistress smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. We were about to tell you but… well… your incident…"

Sakura's accusing glare fell and she glanced at her lap.

"What happened to your arm?"

Everyone stared in surprise, as the usually impassive Hyuuga prodigy's tone became piercing.

Sakura stared sheepishly at her arm. "Well… I got hit by a poisoned shuriken and Itachi-sama saved me. That's how I got my job here."

"You didn't get it treated?" Tenten asked incredulously.

Sakura glanced at Mikoto, who said, "Well, we had a medic come and heal her."

"The poison's spreading," Neji said sharply with his Byakugan turned on.

* * *

"Well?" Neji asked the medic. 

"Well… we've stopped the poison from spreading…" the medic-nin stuttered nervously.

Sakura was sitting in a chair, nervously watching Neji glare at the medic. Itachi and Sasuke, who had volunteered to escort Sakura to the hospital, were staring in amusement as Neji verbally harassed the medic.

"Well then, why can't you extract the poison?" Sasuke asked coolly.

"You're not skilled enough, are you?" Tenten asked.

The medic merely whimpered in fear, shadowed by the presence of the two Uchiha brothers, the Hyuuga prodigy and his future wife, and the Hyuuga heiress.

"Take her to a better medic." It wasn't a request. It was an order. And an order issued by Uchiha Itachi was to be listened to.

The medic rushed out, followed by a pale Sakura supported by her two friends. It seemed that the poison was finally starting to take its affect on her. Itachi soon followed, leaving Neji and Sasuke alone in the examination room.

"What is it that you see in her, Hyuuga?" Sasuke muttered to the ANBU captain.

"I wouldn't expect you to see, Uchiha." Neji replied coolly. "We were all like that at first."

* * *

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you, Fugaku-sama." Sakura apologized for the 500th time to the Uchiha patriarch. 

"It's all right," Uchiha Fugaku replied for the 500th time, getting irked at the girl.

A trip to a more experienced medic had taken care of the poison issue. Sakura had to eat a couple of pills a day to slowly kill the poison until it was completely destroyed.

Sasuke observed the girl carefully. What was so special about her? She definitely wasn't powerful; she wasn't even a kunoichi. She wasn't the prettiest girl in the world, although he could never be sure. His mother's kimono was still big on her small body, so he really couldn't tell about her body shape. Her bright green eyes, in his opinion, were too big and revealed all her emotions. And seriously, who in the natural world had _pink_ hair?

"Is your hair color real?" he blurted out to Sakura, who stared at him with an almost offended look on her face.

Immediately, he inwardly cursed Inner Sasuke for getting the best of his mouth.

Sakura's face turned a light shade of pink; Sasuke wasn't sure if she was angry or embarrassed, but it was fascinating to see that she didn't act like a fangirl when he spoke to her.

"It's real," Sakura answered simply. "Sasuke-sama, I know I work for you but do you _really _have to ask questions like that?"

Sasuke smirked. _'I'm right. She's not like the rest.'

* * *

_

_'Honestly!' _Sakura thought angrily to herself. _'The nerve of that boy!'_

_**'He's your age, you know,' **_Inner Sakura piped up.

_'Shut up.'_

A bell rang from nowhere, and Sakura groaned. That was Mikoto-sama's bell…

She hurried down the corridors until she was in front of Mikoto's room. Slowly sliding the door open, she bowed in front of Mikoto. "You called for me, Mikoto-sama?"

When she looked up, she saw…

"Ino-chan!?" Sakura exclaimed.

The blonde teen grinned. "Hey, Sakura-chan! What's up?"

"Troublesome…" a brunette muttered. His hair was tied up into a ponytail, giving her the impression of a pineapple.

"Shikamaru! You're here too?" Sakura turned her questioning gaze to Mikoto. "I don't understand…"

Mikoto grinned. "Well, Yamanaka-san and Nara-san came by because they heard that you worked here. Honestly, Sakura-chan. You know all these people and you don't tell us?"

"We want you to come to the party!" Ino piped up happily.

"Party?" Sakura repeated blankly. "What party?"

"Naruto and Hinata's annual anniversary…" Shikamaru sighed. "Seriously, who has a party on the same day they started going out years ago?"

"Don't say that!" Ino snarled, punching her boyfriend's arm. "It's sweet for Naruto to suggest that!"

"Um… Ino," Sakura interrupted the fight between her best friend and her best friend's boyfriend. "I have to work."

"Nonsense!" Mikoto waved a dismissive hand. "I'll let you free for the night! Besides, Sasuke's going too, and he might get into trouble."

Sakura's face paled. So her so-called master was coming too? Great…

"Well, you heard the boss!" Ino chirped. "Come to my place by 6. I'm going to make you go to the party as a _goddess_."

* * *

Sorry this chapter was kind of messy... I have this concert coming up and my mom's yelling at me to study... 

Don't kill me because there's not much SasuSaku in this chapter! (Dodges a flying tomato) I swear that the mushy-gushiness of later chapters will make up for it!

Just to clarify things:

Neji and Tenten are 18, and both of them are engaged. Let's just say that in the shinobi world, people get married off early. Both of them are ANBU.

Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Ino are 17, and Naruto and Hinata have been going out for 3 years. Naruto and Shikamaru are also ANBU, and Hinata and Ino is ready to take the ANBU exam, which will happen later on.

Sasuke is 17, and is an ANBU. You all should know who he's going to get together with.

If you're worried that Sakura might get left out just because she's not a kunoichi, don't worry! I got all the major details planned out.

Oh, and by the way, what the heckis a beta reader? Everyone's talking about them and I feel stupid...


	3. Mayhem at the Club

I'm sorry for updating later than I really wanted too, but I had a retreat and all that… yeah… I'm so sorry!!!!

I want to thank EVERY SINGLE REVIWER that reviewed… even though I don't put your name in my story or chapter or whatever doesn't mean I didn't read your review or something… I'm just too lazy to put your name and all that.

I just want to clarify something (like for **Cagalli Yula Atha**, **Tears like Crystals**, and **devilangel123**): **Sakura will become a kunoichi.** Geez, I just have some things planned out first, so yeah…

And for the people who asked about how Sakura knew all those people (**WhiteDorian**), it's going to explain in later chapters, where I'm going to make Sakura's life flash through her eyes or something…

Anyways, enjoy.

Standard Disclaimer applied.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Mayhem at the Club**

_Last time on AiL:_

"_We want you to come to the party!" Ino piped up happily._

_"Party?" Sakura repeated blankly. "What party?"_

_"Naruto and Hinata's annual anniversary…" Shikamaru sighed. "Seriously, who has a party on the same day they started going out years ago?"_

_"Don't say that!" Ino snarled, punching her boyfriend's arm. "It's sweet for Naruto to suggest that!"_

_"Um… Ino," Sakura interrupted the fight between her best friend and her best friend's boyfriend. "I have to work."_

_"Nonsense!" Mikoto waved a dismissive hand. "I'll let you free for the night! Besides, Sasuke's going too, and he might get into trouble." _

_Sakura's face paled. So her so-called master was coming too? Great…_

_"Well, you heard the boss!" Ino chirped. "Come to my place by 6. I'm going to make you go to the party as a _goddess_."

* * *

_

"Ino-pig, I'm not wearing _that_," Sakura said stubbornly, partly to the article of clothing Ino was wearing and partly to herself. "You already got these shoes on me, and I will _not _be forced into that."

Sakura tried her best to balance in the heels that her best friend had somehow gotten on her, shifting uncomfortably. She gazed in disgust at the top Ino was trying to get her to wear. It was pretty, she had to admit, but it just wasn't her type.

"Come on," Ino whined. "I promised Mikoto-san that you'd look like a goddess."

"Yeah," Tenten piped up, coming out of the bathroom in a pair of dark leather boots and a dark red Chinese-style top that reached up to mid-thigh. Underneath, Sakura could spot black shorts with a shuriken holster on it. No matter how much Tenten dressed up, she still imposed her tomboy-like personality on her clothing. Her hair was fashioned into only one tight bun, and sticking out of it were intricate chopsticks (coated with poison, she assumed) with dangling diamonds.

"I'd look like an ugly hag," Sakura retorted, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"W-what are you t-talking about, Sakura-chan? You'd look pretty." Hinata said shyly, fiddling with the hem of her silk top. Over that, she wore a simple fur-lined jacket and dark blue cargos and uggs finished off the ensemble. Her short hair was left alone, however, her bangs were pinned up by a pale silvery barrette.

"Yeah," Ino said. "C'mon, Sakura-chan." She wore a purple halter top and a dark purple skirt that reached up to her knees, but had a slit on the right side. Her usually straight blonde ponytail was now curly on the bottom and cascading down to her lower back.

"Easy for you to say," Sakura snorted. "If any guy even bothers to look at you, your boyfriends can just kick their asses. I don't have someone to protect me from some damn pervert."

"How about I show you my _Soushouryuu_ **(1)** if you wear what Ino chose for you?" Tenten suggested, knowing how much Sakura liked her Soushouryuu, saying it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Tenten smirked when she saw Sakura mulling her offer over. After a couple of minutes, Sakura sighed in a resigned way and muttered, "All right…" Ino squealed in happiness and threw the clothes at a grumpy-looking Sakura, who trudged into the bathroom to change.

* * *

"This is stupid, dobe." Sasuke grunted as the hyperactive blonde bounced off the walls, literally.

"You're just jealous 'cause I have a girlfriend!" Naruto retorted. He rolled up the sleeves of his oversized orange sweater and strutted up to an annoyed looking Sasuke in his baggy black jeans. "Besides, I look way better looking than you, Neji, or Shikamaru in regular street clothes."

"In your dreams dobe," Neji's voice cut off. He came in wearing a gray button-up long-sleeved shirt, with the collar popped, and black cargoes. However, he was still wearing his sandals.

"It's too troublesome to change…" Shikamaru muttered in his everyday clothes.

"I wonder what Ino will say," Naruto grinned, as Shikamaru grunted his favorite word again.

Neji smirked. "Too cool to dress up, Uchiha?"

Sasuke frowned. "No Hyuuga, at least I don't spend an hour in front of my mirror trying to figure out what to wear."

Sasuke was wearing a simple black t-shirt (with the Uchiha fan on the back of course) and shorts.

"C'mon!" Naruto shouted giddily. "The party starts in half an hour!"

"Whatever."

"Hn."

"What a drag…"

"Guys!!" Naruto whined. "Come on! It's my _anniversary_! Can't you at least _act _happy for me?"

"No," his friends replied at the same time. Nevertheless, they got up and followed Naruto out the door.

Halfway during the journey to their destination, Sasuke stopped. "Hold on, I think I left my weapons at your place."

"Why do you need weapons at a club?" Naruto asked, clueless.

"You never know," Shikamaru said darkly, opening his jacket and revealing numerous weapons. Neji nodded as well, pointing to the shuriken holster around his thigh.

"I'll meet you there," Sasuke said, nodding to his friends.

* * *

After Sasuke retrieved his weapons, he took his time traveling to the destination. The place he went to was a very popular bar, and Naruto had insisted they have their little party there since it was the only bar that served ramen. He frowned. Seriously, who sells ramen at a bar? Nevertheless, he bravely pushed open the door and stepped in, weaving his way through staring females, crazy dancers, and drunken men. "Oi," he called to Ino. "Where's Neji?"

Ino giggled, and Tenten burst into a fit of hysterical laughter, earning weird looks from the nearest people. Getting irritated at the girls' laughing, he turned to Naruto, who was staring wide-eyed at the dance floor. "Oi, dobe. What's going on?"

Naruto's mouth opened and closed in a comical way, until he rasped out, "Holy shit, Sakura-chan's _grinding_!"

He followed Naruto's gaze until he landed on a girl with pink hair and gaped. She was dancing with _Neji_?!

**_'She looks hot!' _**Inner Sasuke wolf-whistled.

Sakura was wearing black heels, and attached were cloth straps that snaked up her ankles. On the top, she wore a black spaghetti strapped top that reached up to her knees and had a slit up the thigh. Underneath, she wore dark blue jean capris.

And she was dancing like a pro.

"How did you even get Hyuuga to dance?" Sasuke muttered.

"Dare," Shikamaru said simply. "You know how Neji gets with ego issues."

"And _you_ don't mind?" Sasuke asked incredulously to Tenten, who shook her head.

"Are you kidding me? This is like a show for me!" Tenten gasped in between laughs.

"How'd you get Haruno to dance?" he asked Ino.

"Sakura thinks her dancing sucks," Ino snorted. "But a little bribing makes her do _that_."

"What did you bribe her with?" he muttered. "to make her do that?"

Ino grinned. "Tenten bribed her with her Soushouryuu, twice."

Then, Ino turned to Sasuke with a Cheshire-like grin. "Hey Sasuke, I dare you to…"

She leaned in and whispered something into the Uchiha's ear, which made him twitch in horror.

* * *

Sakura and Neji sighed in relief when the song ended.

"Nice dance, Neji-kun." Sakura smiled and shook Neji's hand, who grunted.

"Let's pretend this never happened, Haruno."

She gave a tinkling laugh at Neji's… um… special sense of humor.

"Aren't you going back?" Neji asked when Sakura didn't get off the floor.

She shook her head. "Nah, I'll have a little fun here."

Neji smirked. "You really shouldn't attract unwanted attention."

She laughed once more and started to dance once more at the sound of a new beat. "See you later, Neji-kun." At once, she lost herself within the beat after Neji disappeared from her peripheral vision.

She was dancing in peace once more when a foreign person came up to her. He had no forehead protector yet Sakura could tell he was a ninja because of his lean and balanced posture. His dark black hair was tinted a midnight blue in the bright lights and his dark eyes had a mischievous glint. He had an arrogant smirk plastered onto his face.

"What's a pretty lady like you doing alone on the dance floor?" he asked flirtatiously, extending hand toward her. "Do you need some company?"

Sakura smirked; this person looked like a challenging dancer. "I would love your company sir."

The two sets of eyes, black and green, had an almost silent agreement; a competition determining the better dancer, and both were very enthusiastic to show off their skills on the dance floor.

"Abumi Zaku," the teen in front of her offered after a few seconds into the song.

Sakura smiled mysteriously and answered, "Sakura."

The teen acted to look very disappointed. "What, no last name?"

Sakura laughed. "Sorry, I don't give personal information just like that."

"So," Zaku said. "You haven't answered my question. Are you here alone?"

She shook her head. "Are you crazy? If it weren't for my friends, I would never come here, but it's Naruto and Hinata's little 'anniversary' party so they made me come here with the rest of the gang."

She nodded toward her friends' direction, and her dance partner did as well. Zaku raised an eyebrow when he caught the sight of her 'gang' and whistled lowly in awe. "Nara Shikamaru, the genius. Yamanaka Ino, best known as Morino Ibiki the second for interrogating with her mind techniques. Uzumaki Naruto, next Hokage and jinchuuriki. Hyuuga Hinata, known for her infamous Kaiten/Jyuken combination. Hyuuga Neji, the Hyuuga prodigy, and Hyuuga Tenten, the well-known weapons mistress?"

"Yup! It's kind of weird that all my best friends are well-known kunoichi and shinobi, but I'm not one as well," Sakura said.

"What about him?" Zaku turned his head toward the raven-haired young man that a smug looking Ino was whispering to.

She looked toward her 'group' as well. "Oh, that's Sasuke-sama. But I don't know him that well."

Zaku's eyes lit up for some reason. "Uchiha Sasuke? As in from the Uchiha clan?"

She nodded slowly. "I'm a servant for their family; I'm in debt. Itachi-sama rescued me from some ninja go wrong."

"Wow," Zaku said. "_The _Uchiha Itachi actually _rescuing _you? You must've been really lucky that day."

Sakura smiled earnestly. "I know, right?"

"Say," Zaku said thoughtfully. "If you're a servant for the Uchiha family… can you give Uchiha Sasuke a message for me?"

Sakura glanced unsurely at him. "Um… I'm not sure…"

"C'mon," Zaku said coyly. The hand on her hips went lower than she would normally want it to. "What's wrong with a servant delivering a message to her master? That's what you're supposed to do."

"Um… can you move your hand?" Sakura asked nervously, trying to pry the hand off her herself.

Zaku smirked; the hand on her rear end slid down to her thigh.

"If you send your _master _a message for me," he said, getting closer to her.

"Um… Zaku-san, can you _please _remove your-"

"You know that it's rude to touch a lady like that without her consent?" a deep voice intruded. A hand shot out and gripped the hand that was troubling Sakura so much.

"Speak the devil," Zaku smirked. "Now I won't have to send a cute little lady to send you a message; I get to talk to you myself."

"S-Sasuke-sama!" Sakura squeaked.

His eyes were unusually dark. "Konoha ninja are supposed to have their forehead protector somewhere that people can see it."

Zaku's smirk got darker. "Who said I was a Konoha ninja?"

Both Sasuke and Sakura's eyes narrowed considerably.

Suddenly, Sakura gasped when she felt cool metal of a kunai, she assumed, on her throat.

"Stay back," Zaku warned. "Uchiha Sasuke, I was told to relay a message to you from my master."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "And how important would that be, to put a kunai to a civilian's throat?"

"A message from my master, Orochimaru-sama."

Sasuke's eyes darkened. "Let the girl go, and come with me quietly to the Konoha police and no one gets hurt. I have nothing to do with _him_."

The kunai dug deeper into her throat, drawing a small trickle of blood. She hissed in pain and he frowned.

"I don't think you should be messing with me," Zaku said maliciously. "You don't know how many Oto nin are positioned in this club." He gave off a very high-pitched whistle, and at the same time, Sasuke yelled, "Guys!"

Shikamaru, Ino, Neji, Tenten, Naruto, and Hinata materialized behind Sasuke while some dancers stopped dancing and appeared behind Zaku.

"What now, Uchiha?" Neji asked, irritated.

"Sound nin… with a message from _Orochimaru_." Sasuke growled out.

One of the people standing behind Zaku smirked. "Damn straight," he said, as he ripped off his entire attire to reveal the standard sound uniform. The horde of people mimicked the Sound nin's action and a second later, the Konoha ninjas were facing about a dozen people wearing the sound forehead protector and uniform.

"So what's it going to be?" Zaku asked smugly. "Come to Oto with us, or let this cute little lady die?"

"Is there a third choice?" Naruto interjected.

Before anyone could say anything, Sakura raised her sharp, three inch heeled foot…

…and brought it down to the middle of Zaku's foot.

The impact made Zaku yelp and let go of his hold on her.

"Why you little _bitch_!"

The moment he released Sakura from his grip, she scrambled blindly into Sasuke, who grabbed her arm and placed her behind him. He gave her a kunai. "Use it if you must."

As if the gesture was a cue, the fight began. Kunai clashed with kunai, loud smacks of punches and kicks could be heard, and Sakura hurriedly sprinted toward the Uchiha district, since it was close to the club.

* * *

Sasuke cursed when he saw his servant's pink tresses disappear out of the door. Stupid girl, she had a high chance of getting captured as a hostage since she had a connection to him and was vulnerable.

"Neji, you lead," Sasuke called to the white-eyed teen, who had just finished his _Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou _**(2) **on a particularly bulky looking Sound nin. "I'm taking Haruno to safety."

Neji nodded and turned his attention to the doors. "Well, you'd better hurry because I saw two Sound nins go out the door as well."

"Shit," Sasuke swore under his breath.

* * *

Sakura ran as fast as she could toward the direction of the Uchiha manor. Itachi had come back from a mission a day ago, so he could come and do something about the fight… right?

Her body screamed in protest at the pressure she was putting on herself; she wasn't a ninja so she couldn't jump from roof to roof like Ino could, and she just wasn't accustomed to running at such a quick speed for so long."

"And where do you think _you're _going?" someone snarled.

Maybe it was just an involuntary reaction or something out of fear, but Sakura stopped, kunai held tightly out in front of her, and turned around to see Zaku and a longhaired female Sound nin. She bit her lip and thought hopelessly, _'Well, I'm dead now.'_

The female sneered and disappeared. Then she came from behind and knocked Sakura to her knees and grabbed her hair.

"Such nice silky hair," she hissed, fingering the soft pink locks roughly in her hand. "So unlike mine."

"Be careful, Kin." Zaku warned. "That little bitch is unpredictable; look what she did to my foot."

"Haruno!"

Sasuke appeared from behind and hit Zaku's pressure point swiftly, causing the black-haired Sound nin to fall unconscious. "Where did you think you were going?"

"I was going to Uchiha Estate to inform Fugaku-san about this thing," Sakura said breathlessly, still trying to gasp in the oxygen her lungs were demanding for. "I thought Sound nins were forbidden to come inside Konoha's gates or even borders for that matter."

Sasuke blinked and inwardly took back what he said about Sakura being stupid.

"How very smart," the female Sound nin called Kin sneered. "But you've been caught, haven't you, _Pinky_?"

Sakura growled and raised the kunai.

"Do you think that will actually work?" the she laughed maliciously.

"Who said anything about _you_?" Sakura growled. She brought the kunai her master had given her, brought it to her hair, and pushed upwards.

Things seemed to go in slow motion as the long hair she had so painstakingly grown out for years flew in all directions. Kin, surprised by Sakura's action, stumbled back as Sakura ran behind an equally shocked looking Sasuke. "I'm going to run, Sasuke-sama," she whispered to Sasuke, who nodded. "On the count of three…"

"One… two…" Sasuke whispered.

"Three!" Sakura shouted as Sasuke jumped up and engaged Kin in hand to hand combat while Sakura started running at top speed again.

* * *

In a couple of minutes, she arrived, panting at the front of Mikoto and Fugaku's room and burst in.

Mikoto looked surprised, as did Fugaku. "Sakura-chan, what happened to your hair?" Mikoto asked worriedly, eyeing the messy, badly cut hair.

"No… time…" Sakura gasped, gulping in air greedily. "Sound nin… at the bar… Sasuke-sama…"

Fugaku's eyes narrowed. "Let me call Itachi-"

"No need, father. I'm already here."

Itachi walked in. "Sakura-san, why don't you take us to the place where the fight is taking place?"

* * *

Sakura arrived where she had left Sasuke on Itachi's back, since she was too tired to run. Sasuke was standing over the still body of Kin, looking disgusted. "About time, Itachi." Sasuke said. "What's Haruno doing on your back?"

"She was too tired to run," Itachi said, letting Sakura down. She stumbled a bit when her feet met the ground and winced.

"There's something wrong with my leg," she mumbled and squeezed her right knee. "I think I popped something while running."

"Here."

She squeaked when she was lifted up and looked into the face of an embarrassed-looking Sasuke. "Sasuke-sama, you don't have to…"

"We need Neji to look at your leg, and Itachi needs to go to the Hokage to report this," Sasuke said, nodding at Itachi who inclined his head as well. At once, both brothers, one headed for Hokage Tower and the other headed going to the scene of the crime carrying a flustered 17-year old female, ran at top speed to their destinations.

* * *

Obviously, Konoha's ninja won. The Sound nin had no chance from the beginning to most of the best ANBU in the village, to start with. Sure, the attack had come as a surprise, and there were a few innocent people injured, but nothing prepared Neji, Tenten, Shikamaru, Ino, Hinata, or even Naruto, who always had something to say, to the sight that greeted them when Sasuke came in.

Naruto's eyes bugged out. "Whoa, Sasuke! What are you doing holding Sakura-chan like _that_?"

Sasuke was holding Sakura bridal style, Sakura with her eyes shut and her face buried into his dark shirt. Everyone stared at her until she opened her eyes. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I'm still not used to this high-speed running."

"Sakura-chan, what happened to your hair?" Ino demanded.

Sakura laughed nervously. "Um… it's a long story, Ino-chan… I'll tell you later."

"Well, everything's taken care of, I see," Sasuke said calmly, as if he didn't carry a beautiful girl during the last three minutes. "Neji, I want to see what's wrong with Sakura's leg. Ino, you know some basic medical ninjutsu so maybe you can heal her leg."

Neji nodded and activated his famed bloodline limit. "Nothing big," he said after a few seconds. "Ino can probably fix it."

Ino grinned. "Of course I can! I mean, it's to heal one of my best friends, right?"

An accidental electrocution and one chakra-filled hand later, Sakura's leg was back to normal.

"Ino, I think you electrocuted my wound too much," Sakura said dryly. "I can barely feel my leg."

Ino giggled.

As if nothing happened, people started to file into the club again as the DJ started to set up.

"Oh yeah!" Tenten snapped her fingers. "Sasuke, did you complete your dare?"

Sasuke turned an unnoticeable shade of pink and Sakura cocked her head curiously. "What dare?"

"Oh, nothing…" Naruto said airily. "Just to ask you for a dance."

Sakura turned a crimson hue. "Ino… haven't you had enough? I mean, you already dared me and Neji…"

"Come on!" Ino whined. "It's for your master's pride. And 3,000 yen," she added thoughtfully.

Sakura's eyes lit up. "Come on, Sasuke-sama."

He raised an eyebrow.

"What, you don't know how to dance?" she smirked.

"Are you challenging your _master_?" Sasuke retorted. Inside, he was getting excited. No girl had ever acted like Sakura in this situation…

Both confidently walked to the dance floor.

"Did you tell them that the song they're going to dance to is a slow song?" Shikamaru asked his girlfriend, who grinned wickedly.

Sakura had expected a fast, upbeat bass, not the type of song lovers danced to.

So when the song started, she was caught by surprise when Sasuke's hands when on her thin waist.

"What the-" she began to utter, until she heard the music.

"Oh…"

"Real smart, Haruno." Sasuke smirked, and she blushed and bowed her head.

They were dancing to _Everytime We Touch (Candlelight version) _by Cascada. **(A/N: Candlelight version is just the slow version of the real song... it's kind of old but I like Cascada :D)**

"I love this song!" she exclaimed softly.

He raised an eyebrow as she sang in perfect harmony with the music.

"_I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me  
__I still feel your touch in my dreams  
__Forgive me my weakness but I don't know why  
__Without you it's hard to survive…  
_'_Cause Everytime we touch, I get the feeling  
_'_Cause Everytime we kiss, I swear I could fly  
__Can't you hear my heartbeat fast  
__I want this to last  
__Want you in my life_

_Your arms are my castle, your heart is my sky.  
They wipe away tears that I cry.  
The good and the bad times, we've been through them all.  
You make me rise when I fall.  
_

_Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling.  
And everytime we kiss I swear I can fly.  
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.  
Need you by my side.  
_

_Cause everytime we touch, I feel this static.  
And everytime we kiss, I reach for the sky.  
Can't you hear my heart beat so  
I can't let you go.  
Want you in my life _

Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling.  
And everytime we kiss I swear I can fly.  
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.  
Need you by my side."

She hadn't noticed that she had her head in his chest, or that her friends had come onto the floor too, or that the music had stopped but she was still singing. So when she stopped, everyone was still swaying to the beat in blissful silence. Of course, when she noticed their position, she turned red and pulled away.

It was even weirder to Sasuke that he didn't mind. If a girl even tried to touch him, he'd glare like there's no tomorrow, but he almost missed the warmth of her head on him.

"You know," he said. "You're going to have to explain what happened to your hair to kaa-san and Yamanaka."

She smiled. "I can just tell them I needed a new hairstyle and cut it wrong."

"No one's going to believe you."

"Gee, Sasuke-sama. What a great sense of optimism you have." Sakura said sarcastically, temporarily forgetting that the person she was talking in _that tone _to was her master, Uchiha Sasuke.

He smirked. She was definitely intriguing.

* * *

"I got it!" Ino whispered excitedly, waving around her camera.

"Lemme see!" Naruto demanded to a giggling platinum-haired blonde.

Everyone, even including Neji, crowded around Ino, who showed them one of the pictures she had taken of Sasuke and Sakura dancing.

Her face was a perfect painting of peace as it leaned on his chest. His usually angry or impassive face actually looked… content. They looked as if they were a real couple.

"Kawaii!" Tenten squealed, clinging onto a smirking Neji's arm.

"I got the whole thing on video," Neji offered smugly, whipping out a camcorder.

Everyone stared at the conniving Neji, shocked… and satisfied. "Lemme see!" Naruto shouted.

"See what?"

Neji and Ino both hid their camera/camcorder when they saw Sasuke and Sakura approaching. To their surprises, Sasuke didn't look pissed or irritated and Sakura… was demanding 3,000 yen from Ino.

"We have _so _got to show this to like… all of Konoha!" Naruto whispered to everyone (except Sasuke and Sakura, of course), referring to the proof of Sasuke and Sakura's… erm… little moment together.

They all laughed, blissfully unaware of the problems their friends were going to be dragged into.

* * *

_Soushouryuu_ **(1) **: The user of this technique will pull out 2 scroll then perform the needed Hand Seals to summon a Twin Dragon. The Twin Dragon will turn into 2 roll of scroll. Using the scroll, the user is able to summon numerous weapons into the field. He or she will tie each weapons using wire so she can control her point of attack.

_Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou _**(2) **: Using a highly advanced form of Byakugan, the user is able to see the chakra holes on a person's body. And by using Hyuuga's Taijutsu Style, he then closes all main chakra holes with quick blows, stopping the flow of chakra through one's body.

I'm sorry this was hastily done, or if there were a lot of mistakes.

I have a project due the next day, but I feel indebted to my reviewers… and now you know why I didn't put anyone really specially or whatever. But I promise I will for next chapter…and ideas for battles for my other story would be awesome, if you're reading it.

Thanks again, and I look forward to your comments/compliments/insults!


	4. Mission: Find out what’s wrong!

Well, here you go.

For those who can bear through this story, thank you all. For those who can't… uh… I'm sorry?

This chapter came as like, a spur of the moment. Think of it as a… filler? Yes, filler. It's kind of gonna be a little on the sad side and some people might be OOC, so bear with me today too…

**lolsuzie **– gee, you're so cruel. Are you like a Sakura hater or something? -.-;;;

**WhiskerzCutie **– Well, I don't want to give anything important away, so I'll just say yes, Orochimaru wants the Sharingan. Everything will be… uh… explained soon… hopefully.

**lanie-chan **– Then I'm glad I made Sakura cut her hair, since you like it!

**HPbabe91 **– I know right? My teachers just loooooove giving me projects and keep me from fanfiction…

**Sasukes-girl08 **– uh… I think so?

**lovealwaysneji **– I will! Since you read my pathetic story…

**furryhatlover2543 **– Darn, you noticed? I was trying not to make it conspicuous.

Every review is appreciated.

Enjoy.

Standard disclaimer applied.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Mission: Find out what's wrong with Sakura!**

_Last time on AiL:_

_She hadn't noticed that she had her head in his chest, or that her friends had come onto the floor too, or that the music had stopped but she was still singing. So when she stopped, everyone was still swaying to the beat in blissful silence. Of course, when she noticed their position, she turned red and pulled away._

_It was even weirder to Sasuke that he didn't mind. If a girl even tried to touch him, he'd glare like there's no tomorrow, but he almost missed the warmth of her head on him._

_"You know," he said. "You're going to have to explain what happened to your hair to kaa-san and Yamanaka."_

_She smiled. "I can just tell them I needed a new hairstyle and cut it wrong."_

_"No one's going to believe you."_

_"Gee, Sasuke-sama. What a great sense of optimism you have." Sakura said sarcastically, temporarily forgetting that the person she was talking in that tone to was her master, Uchiha Sasuke._

_He smirked. She was definitely intriguing._

_"I got it!" Ino whispered excitedly, waving around her camera._

_"Lemme see!" Naruto demanded to a giggling platinum-haired blonde. _

_Everyone, even including Neji, crowded around Ino, who showed them one of the pictures she had taken of Sasuke and Sakura dancing._

_Her face was a perfect painting of peace as it leaned on his chest. His usually angry or impassive face actually looked… content. They looked as if they were a real couple._

_"Kawaii!" Tenten squealed, clinging onto a smirking Neji's arm._

_"I got the whole thing on video," Neji offered smugly, whipping out a camcorder._

_Everyone stared at the conniving Neji, shocked… and satisfied. "Lemme see!" Naruto shouted._

_"See what?"_

_Neji and Ino both hid their camera/camcorder when they saw Sasuke and Sakura approaching. To their surprises, Sasuke didn't look pissed or irritated and Sakura… was demanding 3,000 yen from Ino._

_"We have so got to show this to like… all of Konoha!" Naruto whispered to everyone (except Sasuke and Sakura, of course), referring to the proof of Sasuke and Sakura's… erm… little moment together._

_They all laughed, blissfully unaware of the problems their friends were going to be dragged into.

* * *

_

There was something wrong with Sakura, Sasuke had noticed.

Her odd behavior had started the day after the club incident. Her normally bright, dancing eyes were dull and tired, she was paler than usual except for the dark bags under her eyes, and her laugh… the laugh that could make anyone feel at ease…had completely disappeared, taking all the joy around her with it.

He wondered if it was because of her hair; his mother had been… surprised when the gang (Naruto, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Neji, Tenten, Sasuke, Sakura, and Itachi) came home with a pretty battered up Sakura with short, uneven hair.

Whatever the problem was, it wasn't affecting her duties as a servant of the Uchiha family; in fact, she worked herself harder than ever, as if pushing her body to do nothing other than work.

That was why he was sitting with the gang and his parents, who were also worried about her sudden change in behavior.

"I'm worried about Sakura-chan," Ino said nervously, fiddling with her long blonde ponytail in anxiety. "She's been acting weird lately."

Shikamaru, who sensed his girlfriend's worry, sat up straighter with his dark eyes completely alert and wrapped a reassuring arm over her shoulder.

"Maybe it's because of her hair," Hinata suggested quietly. "Sakura-chan has always been proud of her hair."

"It can't be," Neji put in slowly. "If Sakura had been upset about her hair, she would've shown it sooner. Her behavior started the day after the incident after the Uchiha family's dinner time." Neji looked at Sasuke for verification, which Sasuke nodded to.

"We should find out what's wrong with her," Naruto announced with blazing eyes. "It'll be like our personal mission!"

"Hn," Sasuke muttered. "Why should this be any of my concerns? After all, she's just a servant."

**_'That's not true!' _**Inner Sasuke piped up from somewhere in his unconsciousness. **_'You know that she fascinates you! You're worried about her!'_**

_'She only fascinates you.' _Sasuke retorted back to his inner self.

_**'Ah, but I am you.'**_

_'…'_

But Sasuke was cut off from his… friendly conversation with his inner self when he saw Naruto grinning wickedly at him.

"What, dobe?" he asked coldly.

"Sasuke-kun!" Mikoto reprimanded. "Don't call Naruto-kun that! It's very thoughtful of him to try to help Sakura-chan!"

"It's all right, Mikoto-san!" the blonde said energetically. "I know something that'll… motivate Sasuke to help out!"

Dark obsidian eyes narrowed as the mischievous grin the blonde was wearing widened even more (if that was humanly possible). "You can't force me to do _anything_, dobe. Not even if you're the Godaime Hokage's successor."

"Tsk, tsk, Sasuke." Naruto refrained from saying Sasuke-teme since Sasuke's parents were present. "Maybe _I _can't, but _this _can. Do you mind if I use your computer, Mikoto-san?"

"Go ahead, Naruto-kun," Mikoto said, also curious about how the cerulean-eyed jinchuuriki would 'persuade' her headstrong son into doing something.

Smirking deviously, Naruto turned to the wide screen and typed something Sasuke could not see. And then…

Sasuke's Sharingan reflexively activated due to his anger when he saw the pictures.

Pictures of last week.

Pictures of the club.

Pictures of the bright flashing lights and dancing couples.

Pictures… of him and Sakura dancing.

His parent's eyes widened in shock; Sasuke, _dancing _with a _girl_!?

"It gets even better!" Naruto crowed, clicking on the mouse again.

This time, it was a video.

_"'Cause Everytime we touch, I get the feeling_

_and Everytime we kiss, I swear I could fly…"_

Of him and Sakura.

"Never knew you had it in you, little brother," Itachi said amusedly to his now seething brother.

"You planned this!" he hissed angrily to Naruto, who grinned.

"Nope, Ino took the pictures!"

That pig is screwed.

**_'Hey, don't you know it's rude to hit a girl?'_**

_'… fine.'_

"And Neji took the video!"

Sasuke whipped his head toward the opaque-eyed teen, who smirked and whipped out a camcorder out of his jacket.

At least he'd get a chance to pummel the Hyuuga's ass.

"Guys, what are you all doing here?"

Naruto quickly hit the close button on the window screen while the rest of the people in the room tried not to look so guilty as Sakura came in with a perplexed expression on her face, holding a duster.

"Sakura-chan!" the blonde boy cried jovially, as if he hadn't seen her for years. He ran up to her and enveloped her in a tight hug.

She winced and Naruto immediately pulled away, his bright blue eyes darkening a shade in worry.

"What's the matter, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura managed to smile weakly. "Oh, nothing. My back's just not used to bending over a lot. So seriously, what are you guys all doing here?"

All the non-Uchihas glanced at each other in worry, trying to think up a decent excuse for the pink-haired teen standing at the door.

Fortunately, Itachi saved them all.

"We have invited your friends to dinner with us." He said smoothly, lying convincingly.

Sakura's eyes showed something to everyone. Fear? But the glimmer of emotion in her eyes only lasted a second before they turned dull again.

"Well," she said unsurely. "Can you all talk about this in another room? I'm supposed to clean it right now."

"What do you mean?" Fugaku said gruffly. "Isn't cleaning this area the Ami girl's job?"

"Well, she seemed tired," Sakura said nonchalantly. "So I offered to take her shift."

Ino piped up, "Sakura-chan, you look tired too. Why don't you rest so I can play dress up with you today for dinner?"

Sakura looked surprised. "Ino-chan, I eat separately at the sevants' quarters. Besides, who's going to clean this room?"

"Sakura-chan," Tenten said firmly. "You need rest, and you are going out to eat with us. If Mikoto-san and Fugaku-san agree, then it's no problem."

"But this room…" Sakura said worriedly.

"Haruno, go to your room and get some rest," Sasuke said calmly, cutting Sakura off. "It's an _order_. Don't worry about the room."

Still looking unsure, Sakura bowed quickly and left the room, but not before she spared a suspicious glance to the people in the room.

"Why don't you call Sakura-chan by her first name?" Mikoto asked her son, who just sat there.

"She is nothing but a servant."

"Then why did you tell her to ignore her duties?" Neji challenged.

Sasuke pointed to the computer. "The dobe would've blackmailed me with _that_."

"It's already done bad," Naruto crowed, quickly checking the window again. When Sasuke took a better look, it was filled with comments like 'Kawaii' or 'I wish my boyfriend can do that!' from the older ladies and non-fangirls. However, there were also some sentences like, 'This is a joke, right? Sasuke-kun is MINE!!!' from the deranged fangirls.

"Well, I'll be back," Itachi said quietly, standing up and striding towards the door.

"Where are you going, Itachi-kun?" his mother asked.

"I told Sakura-san that we were eating dinner together with her friends," he stated. "I'm going to make reservations."

Before exiting the door, he turned to the rest of the room. "… If this is going to be considered a mission, let's try to finish it quickly."

* * *

"Move your fat ass out of my face, Sasuke-teme!" Naruto hissed.

"Hmph. It's just you who can't balance on a tree correctly," the Uchiha retorted.

The gang was in trees that overshadowed the Uchiha servant quarters. The building was a tall, simple box with three floors; Sakura's was on the topmost floor so they had climbed the trees to do some 'investigating.'

Naruto harrumphed and scooted over to his girlfriend. "So, Hinata-chan, why don't you and Neji Byakugan Sakura's room?"

"Just Hinata first!" Ino smacked the back of Naruto's head. "What if Sakura's changing or something?"

Nodding in agreement with Ino, Hinata did a couple of handseals. "Byakugan!"

Immediately, the veins around her eyes puffed, loaded with the chakra directed toward her eyes.

"It's safe," Hinata said a couple seconds after.

Neji also activated his Byakugan while the rest of the gang used the old fashioned way (binoculars).

"She's not doing anything," Naruto grumbled a couple of minutes after, looking at the pink-haired teen's still posture sitting on the small bed near the window.

"Wait," Tenten muttered. "She's taking something out from under her pillow. It's… it's…"

"A photo album," Neji said quietly. Reinforcing more chakra to his eyes, he immediately got a close-up view of what Sakura was looking at. "Of her family."

They exchanged curious looks. What would a family album have to do with her odd behavior?

"She's crying, Neji-niisan," Hinata whispered worriedly.

Indeed, the girl was tracing the outline of each picture, and clear, crystal beads ran down her cheeks, one by one in a bittersweet tempo.

"C'mon, let's go tell Mikoto-san about this. Maybe she can give us some more information," Shikamaru said, jumping out of the tree when Sakura wiped her tears away and lay down on the lumpy mattress, expressionless eyes staring at the dark ceiling.

* * *

"No, I haven't heard from her family," the Uchiha matriarch said. "But I'm sure they're safe somewhere."

The teens exchanged looks.

"Maybe you should check with Hokage-sama," Mikoto suggested. "She'd know what Kiyo and Megumi are up to."

"These kinds of things are usually classified, Mikoto-san," Neji said seriously. "Do you really think that she'd think this situation is important enough to release this kind of information?"

The woman shrugged her shoulders. "Probably. I mean, 8 of Konoha's most elite ninja concerned over a certain case? That doesn't happen often."

"We should try," Naruto said determinedly. "Sakura-chan's one of my best friends."

* * *

"Haruno Megumi and Haruno Kiyo?" Tsunade asked confusedly. "What about them?"

"Where are they now?" Shikamaru asked calmly.

"Nara, this isn't a joke," the blonde Hokage said seriously. "Do you know what you're asking for?"

"There's something wrong with Sakura-chan, Tsunade-baachan!" Naruto burst out angrily.

"You're so troublesome, Naruto," Shikamaru groaned. "I told you I'd do the talking when we got here."

But the Hokage's hazel eyes had softened. "You mean the girl that Itachi…?"

"She's acting weird lately," Tenten explained. "We think, well… it's something about her parents."

The older lady looked at them all suspiciously before sighing. "Fine. But this is the only information I can give you. Haruno Megumi and Haruno Kiyo were both in their mid-40s, both chuunin. They completed 68 D-rank missions, 57 C-ranked, and 34 B-ranked."

"Anything else?" Sasuke pressed.

The Godaime averted her gaze to the corner of the room, eyes sorrow. "They're dead," she said quietly but harshly.

"What?" Hinata gasped.

"They wanted to pay off the debt that bound them and Sakura, so they came asking for a mission that paid a lot. It was S-ranked, so obviously they… didn't succeed." Tsunade said quietly.

"They're only chuunin!" Naruto exclaimed incredulously. "They should've known! Why did you even send them then?"

"No one else were brave enough," the older lady said.

"What about us?"

"You were on other missions."

"What was the mission anyway?" Neji asked.

"… Do you swear not to tell anyone I released all this information to you?"

"Hai," the group chorused.

"It was to infiltrate the Oto headquarters and gather information on what Orochimaru is doing."

Their eyes narrowed, and Sasuke growled.

_"Orochimaru..."_

* * *

Sakura never really was scared of dreams.

After all, she was smart so she could distinguish the difference between reality and illusions.

But this dream was so… real.

_He stood over her dead parents, smirking sadistically._

_"You should've known better than to just challenge me like that," the man hissed, licking the fresh blood off his kunai._

_Her mother was slumped on the ground, covered with blood. Her flawless, beautiful skin was embedded with every weapon imaginable, covered in blood. Her jovial, always-laughing eyes were staring into hers, lifeless._

_In her hand was a katana, covered with blood from her gripping it too hard._

_Sakura was afraid to look at her also dead father._

_But it was like her head had a mind of its own, so without a choice, her head turned._

_Her mouth opened in a silent scream as she looked at the disemboweled body in front of her._

_Guts spilling everywhere, face so distorted she didn't even recognize it, and the hands, the hands that always lifted her up into the air when she was a 5-year old were completely cut up._

_"Do you like my artwork, Sakura-chan?" the killer asked evilly, stepping toward her immobile body, his long tongue wrapping around her legs, guaranteeing that she was rooted to the spot._

_She didn't know how he knew her name. She would've asked if it wasn't for the fact that she was completely petrified._

_"You're next," the man gave a chilling smile, raising the same kunai that had penetrated through her parents' flesh._

This time, her scream could be heard through the whole Uchiha compound.

* * *

They heard her scream.

Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke sped up, applying more chakra to her legs. Why was he getting worked up like this? He wondered as his friends mimicked his action.

**_'She fascinates you… us.' _**His inner self told him.

_'Can you just shut up for once and let me concentrate?'_

For the first time, his other self heeded his command.

When they unceremoniously burst in from the window, the group of maids huddled around a figure scattered and ran out of the room, scared of the girl huddled in the corner crying, screaming, and clutching her head so hard that blood came out of her scalp. Next to her was a crouching Mikoto, speaking in a soothing tone.

"What happened, kaa-san?" Sasuke questioned.

"I don't know," she replied worriedly. "She just started screaming all of a sudden, everyone heard it."

Naruto crouched down to the hysterical green-eyed girl and gently pried her pale hands off her had. "Sakura-chan, it's all right. I'm here."

Like Naruto, Ino bent down and enveloped her in a hug. "Sakura-chan, breathe."

The said girl's shaking lessened and the screaming stopped. Her erratic breathing slowly became rhythmic and her posture became slack.

Then she began crying into her best friend's shoulder.

"Ino-chan, it was horrible," Sakura stammered. "He killed kaa-san and tousa, and I… I couldn't even do a thing except watch them die!"

"Shh, Sakura-chan," Tenten whispered comfortingly, also stooping down to her friend's eyelevel. Just tell me everything."

Taking a few shaky breaths, Sakura began. "It was like hell, Tenten-chan… The devil killed them… he had long black hair, and so cold yellow eyes… and… it was like looking at a snake…"

Her body rocked with tears again.

"Sakura, we know about your parents' death," Neji said quietly.

"What am I going to do, Neji?" Sakura whispered with a hiccup. "Now I have no home, no family…"

"Excuse me?" Mikoto cut in sharply. "Sakura-chan, look around you! These people are your family! Your home is the Uchiha household! You don't need to worry about a thing!"

Her jade green orbs widened. "You… you really mean it?"

"Of course, Sakura-chan." Hinata smiled reassuringly. "We owe you a lot, even if you don't know it! You are our family."

Her eyes were growing heavy. "I guess…"

They closed completely. "Thanks guys…"

_Blood._

_The piercing yellow eyes._

_Her mother's dull, lifeless eyes staring at her._

They snapped open as her mouth opened in a startled scream, only to see three comma-shaped wheels spinning rapidly.

"Sharingan!"

She fell into a world of blissful black.

"Sasuke!" Mikoto exclaimed as Sakura went limp.

"I had to," Sasuke grunted. "She's going to have nightmares for a couple of days; I just used Sharingan on her to put her to a dreamless sleep."

Picking her up effortlessly, he exited the servants' quarters, ignoring the scandalized looks from the more fangirl-like maids and his friends that were following him.

"Where are you going, Uchiha?" Neji's tone was overly protective of whom he considered his 'little sister'.

"Do you want her to be bombarded with questions from the other maids when she wakes up, Hyuuga?" Sasuke shot back, opening the door to his room and placing her limp body on his bed.

"Oh yeah!" Ino exclaimed.

"What now..." Shikamaru sighed.

"Dinner!"

"What?"

"Dinner!" Ino repeated again. "We're going out for dinner, remember? I have the perfect dress for Sakura-chan! And we have to get dressed too!"

"Hn," Sasuke muttered. "Just give me the clothes and I'll give them to her when she wakes up."

* * *

"Ugh," Sakura groaned, feeling dizzy. Her eyes blearily took in the dark blue walls, and the king-sized bed she was laying in.

Wait… this wasn't the servants' quarters…

She threw the dark navy-blue covers off and made a beeline for the door.

"Oh no you don't. Yamanaka's going to kill me if you get sick." A hand clamped down onto her shoulder and steered her back to the bed. Once it pushed her down onto the bed, she got a better change to look at the person.

"S-Sasuke-sama?" She squeaked.

"Hn."

"What am I doing here? I remember the dream, and… and… you… you know, don't you?"

He looked away. "It must be hard for you," he said awkwardly. "I'm… sorry about the news."

He turned a light shade of crimson when she tackled him, crying. Her slender arms wrapped around him as she got the front of his shirt wet. With an uncomfortable expression, he patted her back. "Well, I just wanted to say that you always have a family here."

She looked up and gave him a watery smile, before detaching herself from him. "Sorry, Sasuke-sama. I know you're not the type to just go around hugging people."

"It's all right." He said quietly. "Just don't go around scaring your friends like that."

She hugged him again with a teary expression, but this time he was ready. He loosely wrapped his arms around her and unintentionally took in the sweet fragrance of cherry blossoms.

They stayed in that position for about a couple of minutes, the girl with her now sparkling green eyes enjoying the comfort of two strongs arms wrapped around her and the boy enjoying the feel of someone else's warmth and the soothing smell.

* * *

"Yes!" Ino whispered excitedly, waving around her camera. They were hiding in the trees once again, this time without Sasuke and this time, taking pictures.

"Lemme see!" Naruto demanded to the platinum-haired blonde.

Everyone, even including Neji, crowded around Ino, who showed them one of the pictures she had taken of Sasuke and Sakura hugging.

If it weren't for her tear-stained face, it would've been perfect. Not that they could see it that clearly, since it was buried in Sasuke's chest. He was blushing slightly.

"Kawaii!" Tenten squealed, clinging onto a smirking Neji's arm.

Without saying anything, Neji held up his camcorder for them to see.

"Neji, you sly bastard!" Naruto whispered, shaking with laughter. "This is perfect for the Sasuke and Sakura website!"

Déjà vu anyone?

* * *

Thanks, Susan for reading in advance and fixing the mistakes or whatever.

Haha. It's a good thing she's good at English, I have first hand experience with her skill, since she goes to my school…

Well, thanks for reading!


	5. Dinner Party Mishaps

I'm back!

Well, I'm kind of… off today because of sugar… and sweets. Sweets just don't agree with me.

25 reviews for chapter 4! I was really happy. My goal is to get at least 30 per chapter, and if I don't, I will run around my whole town 500 times!

Well, maybe not… I can't even run a mile without having asthma attacks. Sigh, how I envy Rock Lee…

**lanie-chan **– Oh my gosh, that's like, the first time someone said I could do descriptive writing! Thank you so much!

**Komo Pineconeseed **– Yeah, I love Neji's camcorder. Great source for blackmail.

**Tears Like Crystals **– Yay! Another… compliment?

**aya akkaime **– Don't worry, Sasuke's not going to thrash them that bad… well, maybe not the girls.

**lilxcutexmonstah **– I hope I don't kill off Sakura using Orochimaru… I already killed off her parents.

**HPBabe91 **– I know right? Midterms suck! ): Even though they were half days, I had to walk in the blistering cold!

And thank you **Your Guardian Angel**,** Cagalli Yula Atha, blackXpinksakura**,** crescent moon at midnight, Sakura Angel 4eva**,**Ur2tRoUbLeSoMe90**, **Sakura Uchhia**, **-my-name-is-V-**, **ScarletNinja123**, **NoOnesGal1848**, **VcChick**, **gaarafaves**, **Sasukes-girl08**, **reader-not-a-reviewer**, **furryhatlover2543**, **narutogirl1**, **Claud-kun**, **xokatherine229** and **TenTenXIrista**.

If there's any reviewer's name I missed, I'm sorry.

Every review is appreciated.

Standard disclaimer applied.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Dinner Party Mishaps**

_Last time on AiL:_

_He looked away. "It must be hard for you," he said awkwardly. "I'm… sorry about the news."_

_He turned a light shade of crimson when she tackled him, crying. Her slender arms wrapped around him as she got the front of his shirt wet. With an uncomfortable expression, he patted her back. "Well, I just wanted to say that you always have a family here."_

_She looked up and gave him a watery smile, before detaching herself from him. "Sorry, Sasuke-sama. I know you're not the type to just go around hugging people."_

_"It's all right." He said quietly. "Just don't go around scaring your friends like that."_

_She hugged him again with a teary expression, but this time he was ready. He loosely wrapped his arms around her and unintentionally took in the sweet fragrance of cherry blossoms._

"_Yes!" Ino whispered excitedly, waving around her camera. They were hiding in the trees once again, this time without Sasuke and this time, taking pictures._

_"Lemme see!" Naruto demanded to the platinum-haired blonde. _

_Everyone, even including Neji, crowded around Ino, who showed them one of the pictures she had taken of Sasuke and Sakura hugging._

_If it weren't for her tear-stained face, it would've been perfect. Not that they could see it that clearly, since it was buried in Sasuke's chest. He was blushing slightly._

_"Kawaii!" Tenten squealed, clinging onto a smirking Neji's arm._

_Without saying anything, Neji held up his camcorder for them to see._

_"Neji, you sly bastard!" Naruto whispered, shaking with laughter. "This is perfect for the Sasuke and Sakura website!"_

_Déjà vu anyone?

* * *

_

Sasuke stared at the large, gilded family portrait. "How long does it take girls to dress up?"

Sasuke, Neji, Naruto, Shikamaru, Itachi, Fugaku, and Mikoto were at the living room, staring at the door that closed off Sakura, Tenten, Ino, and Hinata from view.

There were a lot of sounds coming from that room. (And for all you people who think _that way_… I have nothing to say.)

"Itachi, does the restaurant you went to serve ramen?" Naruto asked suspiciously for the nth time.

"Yes, Naruto," Itachi sighed for the nth time.

Ever since Tsunade announced that Naruto would be her successor as Rokudaime Hokage, almost every place that served food put ramen on their menu; it was obvious that the hyperactive blonde's favorite food was ramen. Although there were now a lot of places serving ramen, Naruto's 1st choice was Ichiraku.

Sasuke loosened the dark blue tie from his neck and rolled up the sleeves of his button-up shirt, which was a shade darker than his tie. "I don't know why we have to dress formally." He stared in disgust at the formal dress pants and shoes (black, of course); he preferred his regular ANBU uniform and sandals.

Neji was wearing the same ensemble, except his shirt was a pure, crisp white and his tie a hazy gray. Shikamaru was wearing shades of brown and Naruto… well… anyone could guess. Shocking orange. Fugaku just dressed in his usual Uchiha garments.

"You look lovely, Mikoto-san," Neji acknowledged politely.

The Uchiha matriarch grinned, smoothing out invisible creases in her elegant periwinkle-blue kimono-style dress. The sleeves were pretty short, however. "Oh, I'm sure that the girls will come up with something more modern."

As if on cue, the door banged open, revealing Ino loudly screeching for Sakura to come out.

"Come ON, forehead girl! Even Hinata's not shy to dress up!"

"But you haven't dressed her up like a hooker!" Obviously, our favorite pink-haired servant was retaliating.

"S-Sakura-chan, you don't look like a… a h-hooker." Hinata, the shy voice of reason, was obviously taking Ino's side.

"Don't tell me you've taken Ino-pig's side!"

"Sakura, just come out. I promised I'd show you my _Soushouryuu_ **(1)**!" Tenten's voice chimed in.

"Ha! I won't fall for that anymore!"

"… Sakura, don't make me drag you out of that room."

"Gee, Ino-pig. Is that any way to threaten your _best friend_?!?"

In the living room, everyone was wondering what was going on. Ino dressed Sakura up as a… hooker? Sasuke saw what Ino had given him to give to Sakura, and he didn't think it looked _that _atrocious. Then again, the cloth was folded and he didn't bother to unfold the outfit.

Hinata came out of the room, dressed in an elegant cream-colored, spaghetti strapped dress that reached a couple of inches past her knees. Draped over her pale shoulders was a beige sweater, with the long arms tied around her neck. Her clear, platform-style heels clacked on the wooden floors as she shifted her weight from the left to the right. "Ano…You'll need to wait a bit… Sakura-chan's being very… stubborn."

Tenten came out with an irritated expression on her face; it was the expression she wore when Neji always teased her. The qipao (traditional Chinese dress) hugged her every curve perfectly. Under the gold-colored borders of the slit on the right side of the black dress, dark black shorts could be seen, with a kunai holster. The red dragon imprinted on the black silk of the qipao snaked up from the bottom of the dress to near her stomach. "I know, right? You'll need to wait a moment." She walked back into the room where Sakura and Ino were arguing in her black flats.

"No need for that!"

Ino was dressed in a soft lavender halter dress that came a couple inches from the floor. She also had a sweater draped over her shoulder, but it was a shade darker than her dress. She strutted out confidently in her 2-inch heels, dragging along with her a protesting, pink-haired teen. "I got her out," she said proudly.

Sakura was flushed in anger. "Ino, can't I just stay here? I feel awkward in fancy places anyway."

"Nonsense!" Ino waved a dismissive hand. "You're just saying that because you don't want to dress in the _wonderful_, most _beautiful _dress in the world!"

"Then why don't you wear it?" Sakura retorted, straightening.

Sasuke's eyes nearly popped out of his head, and his inner self wolf-whistled. But being the stoic Uchiha he was, he managed to control himself, although he was sure that a bit of blood rushed to his cheeks.

Obviously, Naruto, who had absolutely no self-control like the Uchiha did, called out, "Wow, Sakura-chan! You look _hot_!" After seeing the look on Hinata's face, though, he added, "But I love Hinata-chan better!"

Sakura merely scowled.

She was in a black, strapless dress that showed off some modest cleavage. The carefully layered silk fell to the floor in ruffles, and the black cloth wrapped around her slim waist was pinned together with a large, silvery circle, almost making it look like a belt. The thin black part of the black heels that kept the front together was studded with shimmering crystals, and thin, black cloth snaked up her ankles.

The four bounced down the stairs (well, Sakura trudged, occasionally tripping over her long dress since she wasn't used to dressing this elegantly) to the rest of the group.

"Let's go, ramen!" Naruto cheered, bounding out the door.

The whole group followed after the hyperactive blonde, but it was easier said than done when half of them had heels on and one of the certain half couldn't jump from tree to tree, due to the fact that she wasn't a shinobi.

But somehow, the non-shinobi grabbed the back of the future Rokudaime's coat and somehow pulled his whole self back inside. "You idiot!" she snarled angrily. "We have _heels _and _dresses _on! Show some respect for your girlfriend and help her!"

Everyone stared at Sakura.

"Sakura-chan's strong and scary when she gets mad," Naruto whimpered. However, he obeyed and went toward Hinata and picked her up, bridal-style.

Hinata promptly flushed a dark shade of crimson. "N-Naruto-kun! What are you doing?"

He grinned. "Why, I don't want Hinata-chan's dress to get all dirty when she just got all pretty!"

"How troublesome," Shikamaru sighed, hoisting Ino straight up in the air as Neji did the same with Tenten.

"Neji, are you picking me up because of your male superiority complex?" Tenten asked suspiciously.

The opaque-eyed teen smirked. "No, I don't want you to get dirty, like the dobe said."

Add two more flushing teens in the list of female blushers.

Mikoto laughed. "Fugaku, Itachi, and I will take the long way. You young people go ahead."

"Itachi's only 22," Sasuke deadpanned.

Mikoto waved a dismissive hand. "He has a mission tomorrow, and he needs all the chakra he can get."

"Mikoto-sama," Sakura said unsurely, "I can't really… jump."

"Sasuke," Mikoto said at once.

"No!" Sakura exclaimed right after the Uchiha matriarch said the single word.

Everyone stared at her in confusion.

"No," Sakura laughed nervously. "I mean, I don't want to burden Sasuke-sama with all my weight."

"Sakura, you're 5 foot 6," Ino pointed out from Shikamaru's arms. "And you only weigh 110 pounds."

"Whatever. Let's just get this over with," Sasuke muttered, picking up the protesting roseate-haired teen without breaking a sweat.

* * *

"Um… you don't have to do this," Sakura said, twiddling her index fingers in a perfect imitation of Hinata. "I could've just walked with Itachi-sama, Mikoto-sama, and Fugaku-sama."

She let out a small yelp when Sasuke leapt down from a 20-foot tree.

"Too bad. We're already here."

She never noticed Sasuke was blushing a bit because she was busy gaping at the place they were going to eat at.

"Sakura, you look like a fish," Neji deadpanned, setting Tenten down. Sakura's mouth snapped shut as she glared at her "nii-san".

"Neji! This place is too… too… grand! Can't we just eat at a regular place?" Sakura exclaimed.

"You call this grand?" Ino asked confusedly, then a look of recognition spread over her features. Sakura wasn't from a clan or rich family like the rest of her friends; she never ate at places like these before.

"It's all right," Tenten laid a reassuring hand on her fretting friend's shoulder. "I wasn't used to these places either, until I started dating Neji."

The gang dragged the still protesting teen into the dimly lit entrance of the fancy restaurant. To their surprise, Mikoto, Fugaku, and Itachi were there with another person.

"Tsuki-chan?" Sakura gasped in recognition. (Refer to chapter 1 of AiL)

The 19-year old waved. "Hey, Sakura-chan! What's up?"

Tsuki was dressed in a dark magenta dress. The top was like a corset, and from the hips down a red, transparent material covered the silky bottom of the dress.

"Tsuki-chan!" Sakura exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Everyone's eyes drifted to Tsuki and Itachi, whose arms were linked together.

Naruto's eyes bugged out. "Holy-"

"You… and… Itachi-sama…?" Sakura choked out.

The redhead grinned sheepishly. "Well, the day Itachi saved you from the club, he also visited Aki-san and me to… finish the arrangements. Then we had some tea together, and we started having tea together almost every day!"

Everyone glanced at the stone still Sakura nervously, expecting a reaction. Then-

"That's great!" Sakura squealed, launching herself at her 'nee-chan'. "Congrats, Tsuki-chan, Itachi-sama!"

Itachi inclined his head respectfully, and the teen next to him scowled and punched his arm playfully. "Itachi, can't you be a little more sensitive?" Tsuki complained. "You're such an emotionless bastard!"

Itachi's parents looked on the verge of bursting into fits of laugher in a public face when Itachi had the grace to look apologetic.

"Party of 12, under the name of Uchiha," a bored-looking brunette said, walking up to the group, chewing a wad of gum like a cow. Then she spotted the guys and immediately her eyes lit up at the prospect of trying to hook in one of the 'hot' guys. "I'll lead you to your table," she said in a more flirtatious voice.

* * *

It turned out Itachi had a little trick up his sleeve.

The place he reserved were 6 tables for 2 in a single row.

"Itachi-sama, what is the meaning of this?" Sakura asked confusedly.

Neji and Tenten immediately sat at one table, Ino and Shikamaru at another, Naruto and Hinata in the third, Mikoto and Fugaku in the third, and Itachi and Tsuki in the fourth with one thought in their minds.

_Time to do a little matchmaking._

Sasuke let out a low growl. _'They planned this.'_

The waitress seemed to have noticed that Sasuke was the only single male since Sakura and Sasuke definitely weren't even linking arms or anything. "I can get you a single table if you want," she gushed to the annoyed-looking raven-haired teen.

Sakura seemed to notice Sasuke's irritation and urge to stab the fangirl-like waitress. "Um… Sasuke-sama? Are you okay?"

"Of course he's okay," the waitress said in a fake, high-pitched tone, glaring at Sakura. "What would a servant know?"

Even if she was a fangirl, the waitress was obviously pretty cunning since she noticed Sakura's use of –sama attached to Sasuke's name.

Sakura immediately backed off, looking scalded at the waitress's snide comment. Tenten's hand twitched, inching toward her kunai holster, Hinata was making the seals for her Byakugan, Ino was clenching her fists, and Tsuki was holding her fork like a kunai.

Neji put his hand on Tenten's, Naruto quickly whispered to Hinata to stop, Shikamaru covered Ino's clenched fists with his own hands, and Itachi delicately plucked the fork out of Tsuki's hand. They all seemed to be telling the girls one thing.

_Let's see what Sasuke does first._

"So I can get you a single table if you want," the waitress was saying to Sasuke, whose eyes suddenly had a reddish tinge to them.

"Sasuke-sama," Sakura hesitantly laid a hand on his shoulder, which was a feat to be proud of; for starters, Sasuke was at least a head taller than her and Sasuke usually knocked peoples' hands off him if they tried to touch him (especially if they were females he didn't know well or fangirls.) "Sasuke-sama, calm down."

Mikoto and Fugaku stared in astonishment when the reddish shade from Sasuke's eyes disappeared and the murderous aura vanished almost completely.

Sasuke pulled Sakura to the last table and pulled out the chair for her; even if he was a cold person, he was still an Uchiha that had manners. He smirked, catching the stunned look on Sakura's face and the horrified snarl of the waitress's. "No thanks, we'll just take this table."

* * *

The evening went smoothly, except for the fact that everyone was trying to get Sakura to order something other than the cheapest thing on the menu.

"I'm fine with the chicken teriyaki," Sakura said calmly, taking a sip from her plain water. "I'm not used to fancy foods, anyway."

"C'mon," Naruto protested. "You know, the steak's almost as good as ramen! Just one bite!" He waved a piece of his well-done steak in front of the pink-haired teen's face. "Pleaseee?"

Sakura looked thoughtful. "Hmm… let me see." She plucked the fork out of Naruto's hand, and when he grinned in satisfaction, she plunged the fork in his mouth, making him eat his own food. "No."

"Tha-thu-the! Ai gont oo eed er?" Naruto suggested through a mouthful of steak. ("Sasuke! Why don't you feed her?")

"Why should I, dobe? She says she's happy with the teriyaki," Sasuke said calmly, being the only one next to Neji and Shikamaru that understood what he was talking about. He cut a small piece of his own steak and popped it delicately into his mouth.

Naruto swallowed. "'Cause she's your date and it's your responsibility to make sure she eats well."

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, turning beet red. She opened her mouth to say something more, but a piece of steak was shoved in her mouth. Her huge eyes turned to Sasuke, who was still holding the fork he had shoved in her mouth.

"It's best not to get the dobe riled up."

She nodded mutely, and Sasuke calmly took his steak-free fork out of her mouth and smirked. "Good girl."

Sakura glared, still trying to chew the steak. Oblivious to her glare, Sasuke called to the waitress. "Oi, you."

The brunette waitress materialized in front of their table. "Can I get you anything else?"

"A plate," Sasuke said, completely ignoring her face and still smirking at the scandalized look on Sakura's face.

The waitress came with a plate minutes later and sullenly put the delicate china on the table. She seemed to have given up since she was being completely ignored.

"Why a plate?" Sakura asked confusedly, swallowing the last of the steak.

Sasuke cut what was left of his steak in half and put one half on the plate. He pushed the plate to Sakura. "Eat."

"Sasuke-sama, I-"

"Do you want the dobe or Yamanaka breathing down your neck?"

Sakura sighed in defeat and cut a small piece out of Sasuke's steak.

* * *

Dinner was completely eaten, and the group was on the dessert.

Sakura smiled contentedly and looked at the ceiling. The top of the restaurant was very peculiar. It was completely made of glass, letting the customers enjoy the clear, bright night sky.

Then something weird happened.

The stars connected to form the shape of a large snake's head. She wasn't scared of that, but it was the eye that frightened her.

It reminded her of the eyes of the man that killed her parents.

_Blood._

_So much… blood._

_Mom, is that you? Mom…? Stop fooling around, mom. Mom! Open your eyes!_

Dad, please! Wake up!

_Don't worry, Sakura-chan. You'll see your parents soon._

_The whoosh of a kunai…_

_…the same bloodstained kunai that had killed her parents._

Then she tasted blood as she bit her tongue to stifle the started scream. Her hands flew to the edge of the table, gripping the edge so hard that the wood actually _split_.

The next thing she knew, her chaired had been spun around and she was staring into the eyes of the youngest of her masters. "Calm down, Sakura. You're going to be okay."

Somehow, in the hazy thoughts, she knew Sasuke was telling the truth. Her shaking stopped.

"Good, Sakura. Now breathe. That's it. In. Out."

She obeyed.

Slowly, her senses came back to normal, and she saw Neji and Hinata carefully scrutinizing her with their Byakugans activated.

"Oh my god, Sakura-chan, don't scare me like that again!"

Sakura stared numbly ahead as Tsuki hugged her. "They were the same eyes…" she trailed off.

"Sakura, what did you see?" Shikamaru asked.

"The eyes…" she whispered. "Of my parents' killers."

"Itachi told me about your parents," Tsuki said worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Sakura said quietly.

"Let's go home," Mikoto said anxiously.

* * *

After they entered the gates, Sakura made a beeline for the servants' quarters.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked, quickly grabbing her arm.

"My… room?" Sakura replied unsurely. "Why? Are there any chores I was supposed to complete?"

"Come," he muttered. Without saying anything, he led her to a building with a familiar background.

"Why are you taking me to your room?" Sakura asked bewilderedly.

"You're sleeping here until further notice," he said. "You'll disturb the other servants with that constant screaming."

She blushed but chose to say nothing. Wordlessly, she walked to a corner with a couple of blankets on it.

"You're sleeping on the bed."

She glanced at him in surprise. "But it's yours-"

"Take it."

She sighed at the antics of her headstrong master and crawled uncomfortably in the large bed. "Thank you, Sasuke-sama."

"Aa."

"Good night."

"Aa."

She fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

* * *

"…And that's what happened," Sasuke said to Tsunade.

"How long do you think this will persist?" Ino asked.

Everyone (Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, Ino, Neji, Tenten, Sasuke, Itachi, Mikoto, and Fugaku) was in the Godaime Hokage's office at 2 in the morning, discussing what happened.

"It depends," Tsunade said calmly. "On how strong she is."

"Then it's no problem!" Naruto declared confidently. "Sakura-chan's _strong_. She can hold me back when I'm running almost at full speed, and-"

"Mentally strong, you idiot!" Tsunade snapped.

"Tsunade-sama, we noticed something odd," Hinata said quietly.

"Hm?" The blonde Hokage cocked her head.

"When Sakura had her little… nightmare in the restaurant, she was gripping the edge of the table," Neji explained. "Well, the wood of the table is supposed to be very strong and sturdy, yet she made cracks in it."

Tsunade's brows furrowed. "She isn't a shinobi, isn't she?"

"That's the weird part," Neji said. "It was like your strength, and when Hinata-sama and I activated our Byakugans, her hands were giving off bursts of chakra."

"Impossible!" Ino cried. "Sakura-chan doesn't know anything about chakra control!"

"Ino's right," Tenten agreed. "When we all hang out together, we don't do anything related to the ninja arts."

"Except when you bribe her with your _Soushouryuu_," Shikamaru muttered.

"She emitted chakra unconsciously and it cracked a table?" Tsunade repeated incredulously.

"In half," Mikoto added.

"We had to pay for the table," Fugaku grumbled.

"Father, we have plenty of money," Itachi said. "What fascinates me is how Sakura-san could actually do something with her chakra. Everyone has chakra, but non-shinobi usually don't know how to put their chakra to use."

Tsunade frowned. "This is… unheard of. No one but me knows how to use chakra like that."

"She's definitely ninja material," Tenten mused thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" Mikoto asked.

"Well, when we first met her," Ino explained. "There was something off about her. Like, this strong potential that no one could touch."

"Indeed," Tsunade thought aloud. "I'll research this later. You guys go get some sleep. Itachi, don't you have a mission tomorrow?"

A chorus of 'Hai's were heard, and then her office was completely empty of people.

She stared at the notes she had been scribbling.

_"Could history be repeating over again?"

* * *

_

Sasuke shifted on the cold floor and stared at the wall clock.

It was 3:30AM.

Damn, why was his floor so hard?

"Sasuke-sama," a faint voice called.

Sakura was awake, blearily rubbing her eyes.

"Are you uncomfortable down there?"

"No," he lied.

"Stop lying," she said with a faint smile on her face.

"Hn."

"You can share with me."

"No," he said almost immediately.

"Please? This bed is too big for my taste."

He sighed. "Will that shut you up?"

"Yup!"

He went to the bed. "Move over."

She really didn't need to move over; she was very slim. He got in next to her; both of them were blushing and keeping their distance from each other.

"Goodnight, Sasuke-sama."

"Aa."

They would wake up the next morning, Sakura snuggled in Sasuke's chest and Sasuke's arm draped lightly over her waist.

* * *

_Soushouryuu_ **(1) **: The user of this technique will pull out 2 scroll then perform the needed Hand Seals to summon a Twin Dragon. The Twin Dragon will turn into 2 roll of scroll. Using the scroll, the user is able to summon numerous weapons into the field. He or she will tie each weapons using wire so she can control her point of attack.

I hope this was a satisfactory chapter!


	6. Just a regular trip to the woods… right?

Another update! Finally! 

This month has been odd for me. Why? I'm almost finished with my first story… to tell you the truth, I never expected to get that many reviews for SoD. Or this chapter. I mean, 45 reviews for chapter 5 of AiL! I was like, staring at the screen because I thought I needed another eye checkup.

But I digress. For those of you who have been waiting for Chapter 6, thank you for waiting. I really appreciate it, since I'm not really the type of person that updates really quickly.

**kittygoesmeow**, **lanie-chan**, and **furryhatlover2543** – yeah, the history repeating thing was a little vague, right? But it'll be clear soon, I promise!

**aya akkaime** – yeah, I have a knack for making things go really fast…

**Komo Pineconeseed** – Sorry… it's my first time at ItachiOC pairing, so go easy, okay?

**Dark Glass Bottle**: I like the idea! If I can incorporate it into my story, I'll use it.

**icygirl2**: Visions? Maybe.

**lilxcutexmonstah**: SasuSakuIta triangle? Nah, I couldn't write triangles even if I tried. Too hard and too troublesome.

And to everyone else (**Blackblossom93**, **SasukeEmoAvenger**, **crescent moon at midnight**, **riverbreeze**, **pinkicing101**, **xelagirl2**, **Pale Moonlit Nightsky**, **Sapphire Serenity**, **Emy-chan-tan-fan**, **NoOnesGal1848**, **Azalea14**, **Tears like Crystals**, **themangaloverofdoom**, **sakura9898**, **sakura9898**, **Your Guardian Angel**, **pandabear1415**, **xokatherine229**, **WhiskerzCutie**, **Lioness Of the fire**, **SakuraGaara**, **Andrea8000**, **Sakura Angel 4eva**, **SweetAssassin**, **Rae Ahn Mae**, **Rae Ahn Mae**, **ScarletNinja123**, **twilightlover05**, **Ur2tRoUbLeSoMe90**, **blackSMILES**, **petite.ina**, **Von von**, **larsha**, **Kaydreams**, **Sasukes-girl08**, **VcChick**, and **-my-name-is-V-**), thank you too.

Enjoy.

Standard disclaimer applied.

-

-

**Chapter 6: Just a regular trip to the woods… right?**

-

_Last time on AiL:_

_Sasuke shifted on the cold floor and stared at the wall clock. _

_It was 3:30AM._

_Damn, why was his floor so hard?_

_"Sasuke-sama," a faint voice called._

_Sakura was awake, blearily rubbing her eyes._

_"Are you uncomfortable down there?"_

_"No," he lied._

_"Stop lying," she said with a faint smile on her face._

_"Hn."_

_"You can share with me."_

_"No," he said almost immediately._

_"Please? This bed is too big for my taste."_

_He sighed. "Will that shut you up?"_

_"Yup!"_

_He went to the bed. "Move over." _

She really didn't need to move over; she was very slim. He got in next to her; both of them were blushing and keeping their distance from each other.

_"Goodnight, Sasuke-sama."_

_"Aa."_

_They would wake up the next morning, Sakura snuggled in Sasuke's chest and Sasuke's arm draped lightly over her waist._

-

-

-

"No."

"C'mon, Sakura-chan!" the future Rokudaime wheedled. "It's just a trip to the woods!"

"No."

"You seen to be saying no a lot lately," Neji said, bemused. "But we're not giving you a choice, so you have to go with us."

"No."

"You're acting like we're telling you to smoke weed or something," Shikamaru commented from next to Ino.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan. It's not like nothing bad will happen," Tenten said.

"You said that when we were going to Naruto and Hinata's anniversary," Sakura retorted dryly.

"S-Sakura-chan… It's just a c-camping t-trip…" Hinata said softly.

"You're shinobi," Sakura deadpanned. "For you, it's just a camping trip. For me, it's probably a matter of life and death."

"Please?"

"No, Naruto."

"Sasuke-teme, do something!" Naruto whined to the dark haired teen that was watching the argument progress.

"If she doesn't want to go, why should I care?"

"Sasuke-kun! That's not nice!" Mikoto reprimanded from next to her husband.

"C'mon, Sakura-chan! Itachi'll protect you!" Tsuki announced, pointing to the person next to her.

The older Uchiha brother raised an eyebrow and Tsuki stuck her tongue out at him. "I can protect myself, Itachi."

"Uh huh," he retorted.

"Well, you're giving me ninja training!" Tsuki pouted.

"You are?" Sakura's eyebrows rose as her 'older sister' nodded.

"Yup! Itachi's teaching me himself."

"Cool, Tsuki-chan. I wish I could be a shinobi too." Sakura made a face. "But I'd probably suck at it."

Itachi exchanged a glance with his parents.

_If only she knew what she did at the restaurant._

There was a sigh.

"Sakura, I _order _you to go with Neji, Tenten, dobe, Hinata, Shikamaru, Ino, Itachi, Tsuki, kaa-san, tousa, and me. Happy, dobe?"

"I owe you one, teme!" Naruto said cheerily.

Sakura looked unhappy. "I'm going to have so many tasks to catch up to when we come back…"

"We'll help you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, making a nice-guy pose.

"That's what you said last time, and you ended up ditching me," Sakura growled. "That was about four dozen plates I had to carry, and I almost dropped them all."

Naruto shrank back from Sakura's burning glare.

-

-

"I think I'm going to vomit," Sakura moaned, looking at the jagged cliff they were supposed to climb.

"It's not hard, Sakura-chan!" Naruto called from above, walking on the edge, his body parallel to the ground; he was walking with chakra on his feet.

"That's because you're a shinobi, baka!" Sakura yelled. "I don't know any of this!"

"It's not that hard, Sakura-chan," Tsuki said. "When you get the basics of it."

Sakura turned green once again as she saw how high the cliff was. "Maybe I'll just wait for you guys down here."

"Don't be stupid, Sakura." Neji said, already halfway up with Tenten, Naruto, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Itachi, Tsuki, Mikoto, and Fugaku.

"Stupid is going up there, Neji," Sakura protested.

A sick blue tinged her green cheeks when Sasuke picked her up, bridal style.

"Nice shade of blue," Ino teased as Sasuke started walking steadily up the cliff.

"I wonder how Sasuke-teme will react if Sakura-chan barfs on him," Naruto mused thoughtfully.

"Shut up and walk," Sasuke called to the blonde.

The ten were gone.

"What the-" Sakura started.

"They can go faster since they're not worried about dropping anything except the equipment," Sasuke explained.

"Oh…"

Sasuke continued walking up the hill in silence. Sakura, bored, stared at their surroundings when she spotted something on the side of Sasuke's neck. It was three black commas, as if they were tattooed onto his skin.

Was that a bruise? She lifted her hand. "Sasuke-sama, are you all right? You have a bruise…" The moment her fingers touched one of the commas, Sasuke jerked his head the opposite way and glared at her.

"Don't touch it."

"Gomen," she whispered, befuddled. What was that?

But she remained silent and Sasuke seemed grateful for the silence.

Then Sakura cocked her head uncertainly. "Do you hear a rumble?"

Sasuke reinforced his chakra to his ears and closed his eyes, concentrating on the sound that was getting louder by the second. "Aa. It sounds like…"

"Rocks!" Sakura cried.

His eyes opened. How did she know…?

Because the huge boulders were coming their way. "Shit!" Sasuke cursed. "Hold on tight."

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and clutched the front of his ANBU vest. As Sasuke veered to the left of the huge rocks, Sakura had to bury her face in his vest to keep from screeching out loud as a particularly jagged rock sliced her shoulder. She heard Sasuke curse again –

Then they were still.

She opened her eyes and realized that they were on land, in a forest.

A forest where there was no Naruto, or anyone else for that matter.

She jumped out of Sasuke's arms. "Oh my gosh, Sasuke-sama. Are you okay?"

He didn't have a scratch on him. "Your arm got sliced by a rock," he pointed out.

"Oh…" she stared numbly at her forearm, blood was trickling down it. She felt the sting, but it was nothing excruciating. She carefully picked the rock out and tossed it to the ground. "There."

"It's still bleeding," he said tensely. _'If the dobe or Hyuuga sees her like this, they'll think I dropped her or something.'_

"No problem, Sasuke-sama," Sakura said confidently. Sure, the sight of blood scared her to a certain extent, but she knew basic first aid. Stooping down to the ground, she plucked out a couple of dark green leaves and folded them together into a dainty green square. She then ripped off a piece from the bottom of her red t-shirt, revealing her stomach. She put the leaves on where the rock had punctured her skin and then wrapped the strip of cloth around the leaves. "There."

"It might be poison." Sasuke muttered, waiting for Sakura to drop dead.

She laughed, and he noticed that her laugh sounded like thousands of chimes in perfect harmony.

_'What the… where did that come from?'_

"Don't be silly, Sasuke-sama!" Sakura laughed. "Someone taught this to me when I got lost in a meadow once."

"Don't you know it's not safe to talk to strangers?" Damn, why was he getting concerned?

"She wasn't a stranger!" Sakura parried back defensively. "She had a Konoha forehead protector. She had blonde hair, brown eyes, and this weird blue diamond on her forehead…"

His eyes narrowed. Tsunade? "How old were you?"

She pondered a moment. "Oh, maybe when I was 7 or so?"

He sighed. This girl was getting more and more enigmatic by the second. She talks about the Godaime Hokage like she was an old friend, she doesn't know who the Hokage is, she survives a poisoned shuriken, she fights off a bloodthirsty Sound nin by stamping her heel on his foot, she cracks a sturdy wooden table in half… and she makes him feel emotions that are utterly foreign to him.

Maybe he was going crazy.

A whoosh was heard, and Sakura stumbled to the right as Sasuke snapped out of his reverie.

Sakura hissed as the kunai grazed her left cheek. "What was that?"

Sasuke's eyes became blood red and three comma-shaped wheels began spinning rapidly. He quickly handed her a kunai. "You know the drill."

"I must have the worst luck," he heard her moan. "I liked life better as a little kid."

"Come out, we know you're there," he called to the trees.

A sickening laugh was heard, and four ninja came out, wearing Sound forehead protectors.

"Oto," Sasuke snarled under his breath.

"We come from Orochimaru-sama," the tallest one of them announced. "To deliver a message."

"Tell him to go jump off the Hokage monument and get eaten by one of his fucking snake experiments," Sasuke bit out.

"He says that his offer still stands," the other said, acting as if Sasuke hadn't insulted his master.

"Fuck you," Sasuke hissed.

"That's not nice," one of them smirked. "Especially in front of a lady."

"Haruno, stay close to me, understand?" he whispered to the pink-haired teen. After seeing her nod, he placed his hands on his katana. "Leave now, and tell him never to send his damn lackeys to me again."

"Hm…" one of them said. "Okay then… but Orochimaru-sama has also been interested in a girl… with pink hair."

Sasuke felt Sakura stiffen.

"Well then, I guess you'll go back empty-handed."

Surprisingly, it wasn't Sasuke that said that.

"She's feisty!" one of them laughed. "We really have to bring her."

They attacked.

Sasuke, being an ANBU, was slightly surprised that these nin were at least jounin ranked. He looked over to one side to see Sakura dodge a shuriken thrown – just dodging.

He grunted when a foot made contact with his abdomen.

"Now now," his opponent laughed. "You don't need to worry about the girl; we need her alive."

Sasuke snorted derisively and unsheathed his katana. "Chidori Nagashi!"

The Sound nin fell, dead from electrocution.

Turning to the second nin, he quickly jabbed him through the chest. Then he rounded on the third that was smirking.

"Stab me and she dies," the man said. "She's under one of my special genjutsu, and if I die, she stays in it forever. Since she's not a ninja, she doesn't know how to dispel the genjutsu."

Sasuke growled as he saw her wide, glassy eyes. "What the hell are you showing her?!"

The Sound nin shrugged nonchalantly. "Her parents being killed by Orochimaru-sama."

He watched as tears slid down the pale, slightly green cheeks and felt a sudden surge of anger.

Then, to his extreme shock, he saw that she was making a hand seal. Hadn't she claimed not to be a ninja?

"K-kai," she whispered as more tears flowed down her cheeks.

Her dull, unfocused eyes came into focus again; she had gotten out of the genjutsu.

Then, in an incredulous rage, Sasuke saw the Sound nin punch Sakura in the gut – hard.

It seemed to go in slow motion as Sakura slid back, coughing blood.

He welcomed the sudden surge of power that rose up from within him. For some reason, he felt extremely angry when she was shedding tears.

He lost control to the purple-black chakra enveloping him.

-

-

Sakura watched through her tears bewilderedly as a purple-black mass of swirling aura surrounded him. Black marks spread over his body like flames.

She wasn't scared when she was in the genjutsu; it was just disturbing to see her parents again. Besides, she had broken out of it… she had seen her parents cast genjutsu over each other and break them; she had merely copied what they did.

She wasn't scared when the Sound nin had punched her, but maybe that was because she was overwhelmed by the pain.

But she was scared when her master spoke in an eerily calm yet dangerous voice. "What did you just do to her?"

"Are you blind?" the nin sneered. But Sakura could see pure, unadulterated fear in his eyes. Was Sasuke-sama really dangerous in this state? "I punched the girl."

"You shouldn't have said that," Sasuke whispered calmly.

He disappeared.

Then he reappeared behind the ninja and took hold of his arms.

"You must really love your arms," Sasuke said quietly, maliciously. "Casting a genjutsu over someone harmless, then punching her."

A scream was heard as Sasuke snapped the ninja's arm.

"Oh, my god…" Sakura whispered fearfully, covering her mouth.

She saw Sasuke turn to the remaining one and took a step toward them. His dark aura seemed to grow bigger. "Who's next?"

Her body moved to its accord as it ran to the dangerous man that had just snapped the bone of another ninja like a twig.

-

-

"Who's next?" Sasuke breathed to the remaining one.

_'They will pay.'_

But then two thin arms encircled his torso and he felt the wetness of tears soak through the back of his vest.

_'Her tears,'_ a tiny voice in the back of his voice whispered to him.

"Please, stop…" he heard her whisper.

_Stop._

The raging emotions swirling in him calmed down and the dark marks on him retreated slowly.

_Stop._

The purple-black chakra swirling like a tornado around him slowed down a bit.

_Stop._

Everything stopped.

He fell to his knees.

Then, everything happened so quickly.

The enemy nin, sensing his one second of weakness, jumped at him.

Sasuke could only see his life flash before his eyes…

But the hit never came. Instead, blood merely splattered his face.

Sakura had hit the ninja with the kunai he had given her. She had held it out in front of her, causing the blade to slice the ninja's neck. The head rolled in a circle and then landed with a sickening plop in front of Sasuke.

"Oh… my…"

She passed out and Sasuke cursed.

_She protected me without even thinking about it._

Any other non-ninja would've run screaming uncle.

But not her.

She had… stayed. To protect _him_. To protect the same person who had shown his true inner demon to her a moment ago.

Numbly, he picked her up and started jumping to the center of the forest, where the gang had always camped.

-

-

Sakura woke to the sound of clashing kunai and shuriken.

"Sasuke! Stop it!" someone was shouting. It was Mikoto, wasn't it? Her voice was laced with a worried hysteria.

"What's going on?" she mumbled blearily, but yelped when someone pushed her head down.

"Stay down, Sakura!" someone hissed. "Do you _want _to die?!"

It was Ino.

"What's going on, Ino?" she asked.

"W-when Sasuke-san came h-here with y-you in this s-state… N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered, mortified.

"They're fighting," Tenten explained, and then she started to tell the confused pink-haired teen what happened.

-

_"Sasuke-teme! Finally! Did you get lost or someth-" Uzumaki Naruto was rendered speechless for the first time as a battered Sasuke stumbled toward them, emerging from the thick branches of a particularly large tree._

_He was carrying a bloodied Sakura._

_"Sasuke, what happened?" Mikoto gasped. _

_"Sasuke, what did you do to her?!" Naruto howled before Sasuke could answer._

_The dark haired teen scowled. "It's not my fault. We got attacked-"_

_"That's no excuse!" Naruto yelled, his eyes already taking on red – the Kyuubi._

_"Dobe, I have no time for this," Sasuke pushed past the blonde and set Sakura down on the grass. "She's just unconscious."_

_"UNCONSCIOUS?!" Naruto roared. His chakra flared out in dangerous amounts. "SHE'S BLOODY, YOU BASTARD! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"_

_"Naruto, calm down," Neji said, using his Byakugan to assess any damage inflicted to Sakura. "It's not her blood."_

_But Naruto seemed to have lost all control; he broke free from Shikamaru's Kage Mane no Jutsu **(1) **and lunged at Sasuke._

-

"They've been going at it for at least two hours," Neji muttered. "They should be tired."

But Naruto seemed to be relying on his anger for fuel, and Sasuke his irritation; they just kept exchanging blows – hitting and parrying, hitting and parrying.

But then both of them landed, panting.

"Did they stop…?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

Then another Naruto appeared, and started moving his hands quickly over the real Naruto's making a glowing blue sphere.

"Rasengan," Shikamaru muttered grimly.

"Where's Tsuki-neechan and Itachi-sama?" Sakura seemed to notice their absence.

"To inform Hokage-sama," Fugaku said. "The last time they fought like this they had to stay in the hospital for two weeks."

Then the sound of chirping birds filled the air as bursts of electricity crackled around Sasuke's hand.

"Chidori?" Neji muttered.

They lunged at each other again. Everything seemed to slow down as Sakura saw the two best friends, filled with murderous intent, practically flew at each other – in an attempt to try to kill each other.

For the second time in the day, she ignored the terrified calls of her friends and ran toward the two teens, each holding a dangerous ball of energy in front of them.

"STOP!"

The people on the sidelines watched in horror as both the Rasengan and Chidori hit her.

-

-  
"Tsunade-sama!" The dark haired woman, Shizune, ran into the Hokage's office with a little pig following behind. "Tsunade-sama!" She called out again.

The blond woman sat behind the desk, lazily skimming through the file in her hands. She ignored her assistant's screaming; after all, Shizune was always worried about something. It wasn't until Shizune slammed her fists on the wooden desk that Tsunade looked up. Shizune had never done that before.

"What is it, Shizune?" Tsunade asked, slightly perturbed that her assistant had disturbed her.

"Tsunade-sama, it's Uchiha Itachi-san and Tsuki-san! They say it's an emergency!"

"What do they say it is?"

"It's Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Nar-"

"Tsunade-sama." Itachi had unceremoniously burst in with the redhead, Tsuki. But there was another person that came in a couple of seconds after them.

Hyuuga Neji?

Itachi also seemed to be surprised to see Neji.

"Hokage-sama," Neji said quickly; Tsunade was shocked to see Neji in such a flustered and panicked state.

"What is it, Hyuuga?"

"It's Sakura, Hokage-sama. Please come! She's… dying!"

Sakura? The pink-haired girl that Itachi had rescued? The one that had managed to replicate her massive strength without even knowing it?

Her hazel eyes narrowed as she stood up, knocking her chair down. "Well, what are you waiting for?" She barked. "Take me to her, _now_!"

-

-

Both Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke watched as Haruno Sakura's body flew into the air. It stayed, suspended, in midair for a moment, then fell back down as a bloody heap.

Both of them had tried to redirect their attacks, but it was too late; instead, Naruto's Rasengan had hit her shoulder and Sasuke's Chidori had collided with Sakura's left side.

It didn't mean that Sakura was fine and dandy.

"Sakura-chan!"

Everyone ran toward her but it was neither the two that were fighting nor the horrified audience of the fight that caught Sakura's body.

"You two are dead after this," Tsunade growled, setting Sakura's limp body on the soft grass. "Shizune!"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune seemed rooted in her spot for a split second at the sight of Sakura's mangled, bloody body.

Tsunade laid a glowing hand on Sakura, and her face displayed shock.

"What is it, Tsunade-sama?" Mikoto asked anxiously, patting a crying Ino's back.

"She's going to be fine," Tsunade said quietly. "But…" Her amber eyes showed confusion and awe.

"What's wrong, Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru asked.

"Nothing's wrong…" Tsunade murmured. "That's the weird thing."

"How can you say that, Tsunade-baachan?!" Naruto exclaimed, obviously looking very guilty about what had happened. "She's bleeding, he has a gaping hole in her side and arm, and I can see part of her bone!"

"It's your fault, Naruto, so I suggest you shut up," Tsunade snapped.

Naruto bit his lip and Hinata took his hand and smiled reassuringly at him.

"So what would be the problem, then, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked.

"Her body was already healing itself before I got here."

Everyone stared at the unconscious girl. The very typical trip to the woods had only revealed more mysterious information about Haruno Sakura.

"Tsunade-sama, I need to tell you something," Sasuke said emotionlessly.

"What is it?" Tsunade didn't even look up from her work.

"Sakura and I – when we got separated from our party – we were attacked by Orochimaru's _messengers_. And they told me that… the offer still stands."

Naruto made a feral growl in his throat while the grim mood became even tenser.

"I see," Tsunade muttered grimly.

_'Orochimaru… what are you up to now?'_

-

-

-

**(1) **Kage Mane no Jutsu: Kage Mane no Jutsu is the ability to cast a shadow and control any object touching the shadow. The user will use the Rat Hand Seal to unleash a shadow from the user's feet. The distance the shadow can travel depends on the user's chakra. But the shadow is able to stretch farther than the chakra amount needed if the shadow hits a shaded region. Once the opponent is in the shadow, the user is able to control the opponent's movement.

-

Was this a good enough chapter? Well, 'till next time!


	7. Haruno?

I have nothing much to say.

I feel… void of emotion for no reason. And drowsy. It feels weird.

I decided to take someone's suggestion but I'm going to tweak it a bit. I'm going to make Sakura a part of a near-extinct clan – well, it's already kind of extinct because I don't think I'm going to make a bunch of Haruno clan OCs – and give her a kekkai genkai. Um… it's one I already made up, you know in SoD, the dragon's limit…? Yeah. I'm going to change it a little but I'm going to use that one because I'm too lazy to make up another bloodline limit. Sorry. If anyone has suggestions, yeah, I'd be glad.

**lilxcutexmonstah**: Yeah, just like you said in the review. Oh, and I don't mind waiting for anyone to review. Besides, I'm happy you review:D

**berry smoothie**: Torture and humiliation...? Um... that sounds... mean? Well, in this chapter, Sasuke's pride will be... torn.

**lolsuzie**: did you have sugar when you were reviewing? Seriously, it sounded like you were high. Like when I'm high on air. :D I love my high moments, don't you?

**HPBabe91**: Um… I'm glad you didn't kill me? For the Sasuke not leaving part… erm… well… ARGH, never mind. You'll find out… eventually. Ah… I just love you nice, long, fun, thoughtful reviews. It helps me feel less like crap. So thank you.

I'm too lazy to reply to everyone, but that doesn't mean I don't think you guys are important. So thank you **Suk-fong**, **Tema-chan**, **teen titan girl**, **inner soul**, **themangaloverofdoom**, **yourdarkdesire**, **FujinAsuka**, **NoOnesGal1848**, **Kaydreams**, **crescent moon at midnight**, **Baby Acoustic**, **furryhatlover2543**, **TruePinay4eva**, **xokatherine229**, **Rae Ahn Mae**, **SakuraGaara**, **kittygoesmeow**, **WhiskerzCutie**, **Ur2tRoUbLeSoMe90**, **velcroSUNSHINE**, **animegurl02**, **gaarafaves**, **icygirl2**, **lil-c-girl2218**, **Sakura Uchhia**, **SweetAssassin**, **lanie-chan**, **PabloandDuck**, **larsha**, **Andrea8000**, **Blackblossom93**, **-my-name-is-V-**, **nlightnd**, **Anime Angel Goddess**, **Sasukes-girl08**, **Claud-kun**, and **VcChick** for reviewing.

If I forgot anyone, I'm sorry… I have like, ADD so when I see one of your names on the screen and then wait like, two seconds, I forget.

Enjoy.

Standard disclaimer applied.

-

-

**Chapter 7: Haruno...?**

-

_Last time on AiL:_

_Both Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke watched as Haruno Sakura's body flew into the air. It stayed, suspended, in midair for a moment, then fell back down as a bloody heap. _

_Both of them had tried to redirect their attacks, but it was too late; instead, Naruto's Rasengan had hit her shoulder and Sasuke's Chidori had collided with Sakura's left side._

_It didn't mean that Sakura was fine and dandy._

_"Sakura-chan!" _

_Everyone ran toward her but it was neither the two that were fighting nor the horrified audience of the fight that caught Sakura's body._

_"You two are dead after this," Tsunade growled, setting Sakura's limp body on the soft grass. "Shizune!"_

_"Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune seemed rooted in her spot for a split second at the sight of Sakura's mangled, bloody body. _

_Tsunade laid a glowing hand on Sakura, and her face displayed shock._

_"What is it, Tsunade-sama?" Mikoto asked anxiously, patting a crying Ino's back._

_"She's going to be fine," Tsunade said quietly. "But…" Her amber eyes showed confusion and awe._

_"What's wrong, Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru asked._

_"Nothing's wrong…" Tsunade murmured. "That's the weird thing."_

_"How can you say that, Tsunade-baachan?!" Naruto exclaimed, obviously looking very guilty about what had happened. "She's bleeding, he has a gaping hole in her side and arm, and I can see part of her bone!"_

_"It's your fault, Naruto, so I suggest you shut up," Tsunade snapped. _

_Naruto bit his lip and Hinata took his hand and smiled reassuringly at him._

_"So what would be the problem, then, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked. _

_"Her body was already healing itself before I got here."_

_Everyone stared at the unconscious girl. The very typical trip to the woods had only revealed more mysterious information about Haruno Sakura._

_"Tsunade-sama, I need to tell you something," Sasuke said emotionlessly._

_"What is it?" Tsunade didn't even look up from her work._

_"Sakura and I – when we got separated from our party – we were attacked by Orochimaru's messengers. And they told me that… the offer still stands."_

_Naruto made a feral growl in his throat while the grim mood became even tenser._

_"I see," Tsunade muttered grimly._

'Orochimaru… what are you up to now?'

-

-

Uzumaki Naruto stared.

He stared at one of his best friends. At his childhood crush.

Sakura.

He felt like crying.

It was his entire fault. Not Sasuke's; Naruto knew Sasuke didn't see Sakura in the way the rest of the world did. Sasuke was almost a complete stranger to the pink-haired teen, but Naruto… Naruto was supposed to always be there for her to protect her. He promised.

Uzumaki Naruto never broke a promise… until now.

The body moved slightly and the thin brows furrowed as she bit her lip. A small whimper of pain came out of the once bloodied lips as the heart monitor went crazy for a few moments.

_Beebeebeebeeeeeeep – _

He sat up as his heart started racing faster and faster… _'Sakura… don't die on us!'_

Hinata, from his right, took his large, calloused hand in her smaller ones and smiled at him reassuringly. "Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan is stubborn."

The blonde had to laugh out loud, halfheartedly, at his girlfriend's statement. Even if she _was _stubborn, there was no way she could survive if both Chidori and Rasengan had hit her simultaneously. No one had; Sasuke and Naruto had tried on opponents with _very _gruesome results.

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. _

As her heart rate slowed down, his own heart slowed as well.

But she was still flailing her arms and the tear streaks were evident on her face.

Sakura was having a nightmare, and no one could save her from whatever was haunting her.

Naruto felt a stab of pain. He was sure that everyone in the room – Neji, Tenten, Shikamaru, Ino, Hinata, Itachi, Tsuki, Mikoto, Fugaku… Sasuke – felt the pink-haired girl's pain.

"She's in a nightmare," Tenten worriedly muttered, voicing Naruto's thoughts aloud.

"It's our fault," Ino choked out, a few tears sliding down her smooth, pale cheek. "We shouldn't have put Sakura in this kind of danger."

Shikamaru sighed, also worriedly, and wrapped an arm around the longhaired blonde.

The door suddenly opened, making Naruto's sorrowful blue eyes jump in shock for a second.

It was Tsunade.

"Naruto, is that you? You look a little tired," Tsunade commented. "Well, all of you do."

Indeed, they had stayed by the unconscious teen since the day she was checked into the hospital. But it was Naruto that stayed by her side 24/7. The hollowed features, dark, angry bags under his eyes, and limp hair proved it.

Tsunade's brows furrowed as she placed a glowing hand on Sakura's forehead, calming down the thrashing a bit. "I can't seem to completely heal her… her body won't… let me."

"Is that even possible?" Naruto demanded to the Hokage, who nodded grimly.

"Apparently, with this girl, it can."

"How is her body resisting your chakra?" Mikoto asked, truly curious. Even if she _was _curious, she was still eying the unconsciously crying girl worriedly.

"When I heal someone, I push my chakra into their body to speed up the healing process or to analyze what's going on," Tsunade explained. "But… her own chakra is pushing mine back to me; it won't let me get through even the bloodstream."

_'Sakura-chan…' _Naruto's bright blue eyes stared helplessly at the girl that was struggling between the fine line of life and death.

"She's stable though," Tsunade said, reassuring the blonde and everyone in the room. "Like I said before, she's unconsciously healing herself."

"Can't only really advanced medic-nins do that?" Neji questioned tersely.

"Yes… that's what is confusing me." Tsunade placed her hand on Sakura's forehead once more and shook her head in defeat. "All we can do is hope."

The pink-haired teen in the hospital bed shook her head furiously and mumbled something.

"No… don't kill them…"

Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"No… not Hinata-chan, please!" the soft whisper of pain rose into a hysterical, desperate tone. "Don't touch Ino-chan! No, I'll do anything – Tenten! No, no, no… don't die on me… Naruto, speak to me! Please… stop…"

"Sakura-chan," Hinata whispered miserably. "What's she dreaming about?"

"I wouldn't call it a dream," Tenten remarked, making a failed attempt at humor.

Then, just like that, Sakura's eyes shot open and she sat up pleading for her friends' lives.

-

-

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as the wounded girl sat up pleading the unknown person for her friends' lives. Now he could see why everyone saw something in her.

It wasn't every day when even a shinobi got in the way of the Rasengan and Chidori – and survive the event.

But _she _had. She was stable.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto jumped up, relief evident in his sparkling blue eyes.

She didn't seem to hear him. Instead, she stared into space, eyes sparkling with tears. "No… she couldn't have…"

"Tsunade-sama…?" Neji turned his head toward Tsunade. "What's going on?"

Even if Neji was making an attempt to use a logical way to help Sakura, Naruto was already shaking the girl.

"Sakura-chan! It's me, Naruto! Can't you hear me?!"

The jade green orbs widened. "N… Naruto…? Is it really…?"

"Sakura-chan!" Ino wailed, flinging her arms around Sakura. "You're alive!"

Sakura's eyes filled with tears again. "I… I thought… I…"

Itachi stepped forward, calm and composed as ever. "Sakura-san," he said in the gentlest voice he could manage. "What did you see?"

Sakura sniffed and the tears fell rapidly. "I… I was… I saw myself killing you guys."

The words came out as a ragged whisper of pain, but everyone heard them clearly. Sakura, as if she was in a horrifying trance, kept talking.

"Someone was… killing everyone. Naruto, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Neji, Tenten, Tsuki… everyone… and… another person… was in the background, telling her to keep killing… I was begging for their lives, but the person… she lifted the hood of her cloak… and I… I saw… myself."

"Oh, Sakura-chan," Hinata whispered too, also crying. "It was just a dream, right…?"

"The odd thing was… I had… weird eyes… They were… golden."

Sasuke was perplexed when he saw the Hokage's eyebrows furrow and lips pursed, but he knew she was thinking at almost the same speed as the Nara genius.

"Sakura," Tsunade said, her eyebrows still furrowed. "Do you remember me?"

The distraught pink-haired teen stared at Tsunade for a moment. "You're… you're the lady who taught me how to seal up a wound with a plant…"

The Godaime's pursed lips got even thinner. "Ah, I see. Your last name is… Haruno, right?"

Sakura nodded slowly. Her head was throbbing and her side hurt. "What… happened?"

To everyone's surprise, Sasuke spoke up. "I hit you with Chidori."

Sakura was silent as, Sasuke assumed, she was trying to remember what happened. Then, when her eyes drooped in remembrance, he stepped forward.

"I'm… sorry for what happened to you."

-

-

Sakura's eyes widened at the truly sincere Uchiha.

Was he serious…? In her short time working for the Uchiha clan, she now knew that the Uchiha clan was a proud people who rarely apologized. Heck, she had even heard a rumor of Uchiha Sasuke refusing to apologize to the (snobby, fangirly) daughter of an important politician!

And _the _Uchiha Sasuke of the _Uchiha _clan was _apologizing _to _her_?! A mere commoner?

Maybe she was still dead or unconscious.

Everyone was speechless too.

"Sasuke-teme… apologized?" Naruto looked as if Hinata had slapped him. "Apologized…? Great, now I know that I really didn't hit Sakura-chan with Rasengan. It's all a dream…"

"Hn." Sasuke leaned against the wall once again, looking annoyed. It was truly a mystery how Sasuke could be so sincere about apologizing, and then act like nothing had happened.

"Dobe, it's not a dream," Shikamaru said lazily, although his facial expression showed shock.

No one noticed, but Mikoto smiled.

Sasuke was warming up to someone.

Even if it was Haruno Sakura, a nobody to society.

_'Sasuke-kun, will you open up to Sakura-chan?'_

Mikoto hoped she'd have a daughter-in-law soon. Well, make that two, since Itachi and Tsuki were together.

-

-

Tsunade was well known for being a horrible gambler.

She was _also _well known for having a couple of bottles of sake by her side, always.

But today, she was studying. Seriously, studying. Researching.

Shizune, who had come in with Tonton and a bunch of scrolls, screeched in shock. "Eek! Tsunade-sama is… _studying_!"

"Quiet," Tsunade snapped; she was quite irritated with the sake deprivation she had brought upon herself. "I'm _trying_ to concentrate."

"AHH!" Shizune shrieked, seriously freaked. "Tsunade-sama's trying to _concentrate_!"

Tsunade sighed in defeat. This was what she got for trying to do a little bit of sleuthing. "Shizune, are those the scrolls I asked for?"

Shizune, who had gotten over the initial shock of Tsunade studying, nodded a little slowly. "Hai, Tsunade-sama. But I don't know why you're doing research on something that is almost extinct. Besides, the chance of one of them having the bloodlimit is very rare."

"I know," Tsunade said gravely, snapping one of the thick, leather-bound books shut. "But I might've found someone that has it. Even if that power is dormant right now, traces of it are definitely being revealed."

Tsunade's dark-haired assistant cocked her head in pure curiosity. "Who do you think it is, Tsunade-sama?"

"Haruno Sakura."

-

-

Sakura hummed a random tune while rubbing the shiny, wooden floors.

It had been a week since she had been released from the hospital. She had been told that the event she had survived was a near miracle, and she was grateful. But the… nightmare she had…

She shuddered and shook her head furiously to dismiss the random thought from her head. Never again, never again would she think of that. She was loyal to her friends… she wasn't a killer.

She sighed aloud and tucked a stray strand of pink hair behind her ear. Maybe she should've taken Naruto's offer to go to the hot springs with the gang. When they had asked her, she had vehemently declined, saying that she was missing a lot of work. It was true, though. Truthfully, it was a bit unfair to be slacking off like that. She was, after all, merely one of the many servants working for the Uchiha clan. She had to do her share of work. Besides, they were coming back today.

Wiping the sweat of her forehead, she proceeded to the next room. Closing her eyes, she tried to conjure a mental image of her schedule. Right now, she needed to clean Sasuke-sama's room, and then Itachi-sama's… and then she had kitchen duty –

A piercing scream cut her from her thoughts and she looked up, startled. The wet rag she had been cleaning with fell to the floor as she ran down the stairs to see Ami, one of the nastier servants, run up the stairs, shrieking in fear.

"BURGULARS!"

It was a shame that no one outside of the main compound seemed to hear, and only the servants heard. But then again, a lot of them were on lunch duty, and there was some protective seal on the doors of the cafeteria, not letting entry.

Sakura cursed, terrified, when she saw the forehead protector. They weren't regular thieves.

Her panic escalated even more when she saw the music note engraved into the enemies' forehead protectors. She knew, deep inside, that they were after her. But she summed up her courage and spoke in the calmest voice she could muster at the moment. "I'm sorry, Sasuke-sama is not available at the moment. Can I take a message?"

One of the Sound nins' squinted eyes darted toward her. "No, but I think _you _will suffice as a message for your _Sasuke-sama_."

"Koji!" A tubbier nin poked the squinty eyed one in the side. "That's the girl we're supposed to bring _alive_."

The squinty eyed one, Koji, frowned. "Fine."

When they took a step forward, she spun on her heel and ran for it.

-

-

"Ahh," Naruto sighed in content in slid in the steaming water. "This is the life."

"Don't get so comfortable," Shikamaru quipped. "You're going on probation after this, remember?"

Obviously, Sasuke's apology to Sakura wasn't enough to get both the Uzumaki and Uchiha out of probation. Tsunade had been positively _steaming _and everyone had feared her wrath that day.

"Don't forget cleaning the Academy for a month," Neji added.

Naruto groaned. "There's no way I can survive Iruka telling me to clean everything!"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. Like a true Uchiha, he would take the punishment and make nothing of it.

Typical.

But he couldn't shake off a strange vibe. It was like… something was going to happen. Something bad.

"Sasuke-teme?" Naruto was focusing his bright blue eyes on him, and Sasuke was glad for the steam because he knew what type of facial expression Naruto was wearing with that tone. His eyes would be seriously focused on one single object and his face would pucker up into a sober, scrutinizing expression.

"What, dobe?" Sasuke asked with his eyes closed.

"Do you like Sakura-chan?"

The question caught him completely off surprise, but he didn't have to answer because the females' voices had drifted from the other side of the room, and one sentence caught all the males' attention.

"We should have brought Sakura, girls? It's no fun without her."

Even if it _was _Yamanaka Ino's voice, it was still pretty loud.

-

-

"Hey guys," Tenten grinned wickedly as Mikoto was gone. The Uchiha matriarch had told them she wanted to take a nap. They knew that Itachi and Fugaku would also leave after a while, so their plan was safe. "Now?"

Tsuki nodded, also grinning. "Yeah. Ino, care to start for us?"

"It'd be a privilege," Ino cleared her throat, then said in a loud, clear voice, "We should have brought Sakura, right girls? It's no fun without her."

Tsuki, playing along, let out a dramatic sigh. "I know, right? You know, I've noticed that Sakura had nice legs." (A/N: Randomness, sorry.)

Hinata let out a little gasp. "T-Tsuki-san…? Are y-you…"

"Ew, Hinata-chan!" Tsuki also sounded appalled. "I'm straight! I have Itachi, remember?"

Hinata managed a small "sorry" and smiled at Tsuki apologetically. "But Sakura-chan _does _have a nice figure…"

"_JUST _nice?!" Ino exclaimed. "Holy shit, she has a body as sexy as mine! And that's saying something!"

"Then that's not saying anything," Tenten quipped sarcastically.

"Hey!" Ino pouted. "Who has the D-cup here?"

When they heard cursing from the guys' side of the hot springs, they were sure that Shikamaru was having a nosebleed over too much information on Ino's vital stats.

"But you have a nice ass, Tenten-chan," Tsuki commented brazenly. Obviously, the nineteen-year old redhead did not want to be overdone by the blonde.

Someone else began cursing, along with Shikamaru, and Tenten stifled a laugh behind her hand.

"Neji, why don't you use your Byakugan and check?" Obviously, Naruto had no shame either. Although it was not as loud as the girls, they knew he was just loud and couldn't be outheard in all of Konoha, even if he didn't want it to be heard.

"Ooh, I bet you'd just _love _to see Hinata-chan naked since her father and Neji won't let you until you get married, Naruto." Ino shouted through the wooden wall.

A hacking cough of shock told them Naruto had joined in with the nose-bleeding males. Hinata also turned red and dunked her body lower into the steaming water, as if to reassure herself that Neji's Byakugan could _not _see through the water.

-

-

"Hey! Who has the D-cup here?"  
Shikamaru turned beet red and let out a string of profanities as his nose started spurting blood.

Neji smirked. "Oh my, Nara Shikamaru. Did you hear that?"

"But you have a nice ass, Tenten-chan."

Shikamaru managed to let out a nasal laugh (he was holding his nose so more blood wouldn't drip) as Neji started letting out all types of obscenities – he was also having a nosebleed.

"Neji, why don't you use your Byakugan and check?" Naruto guffawed.

"Ooh, I bet you'd just _love _to see Hinata-chan naked since her father and Neji won't let you until you get married, Naruto," Ino's voice came, loud and clear, through the wooden wall.

It seemed that Naruto choked on his own blood, gushing from his nose.

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered passionlessly.

Naruto scowled and flipped his best friend off.

"Don't let _Hinata-chan _see that," Shikamaru chuckled. Even if Hinata looked like the frail, shy type, she was quite fierce when her boyfriend cursed frequently, whether it was verbal or physical.

-

-

"I'm glad to be going home," Ino sighed. She was on Shikamaru's back while he jumped from tree to tree.

"Troublesome woman," the Nara muttered. "You're a kunoichi, can't you just jump too?"

"Baka!" Ino snarled as she slapped the pineapple-haired teen's head. "Can't you not complain for once? Naruto and Neji and Itachi-san aren't saying anything."

Hinata was asleep on Naruto's shoulder, her head burrowed in the back of his neck, Tenten and Neji were having an argument about different kinds of weapons, and Tsuki was valiantly trying to get Itachi to talk.

"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru grunted again. However, he didn't drop her like he usually did when Ino was annoying him.

The platinum-haired blonde gave him a cheeky grin and pinched his cheek. "That's my good, lazy-ass bastard of a genius."

Naruto snickered from the side, but Ino shot him a glare. "Yeah, well at least _my _boyfriend doesn't have an IQ of a gnat."

It took a few seconds for the comment to get through his head, but when Naruto finally comprehended, Shikamaru had to pump more chakra into his legs to speed away from the infuriated blonde.

-

-

"Finally, home – what the _hell_?!" Ino changed what she was saying in mid-sentence.

The gang, instead of parting for their own homes, all went toward the Uchiha compound because they wanted to see their favorite pink-haired teen.

But instead of the beautiful gardens, mini ponds, and majestic exterior, they were greeted with trampled over flowers, overturned bridges, and cut off pieces of wood.

There were also a few servants running, in an obvious attempt to find shelter.

"Stop!" Fugaku yelled to the hysterical servants. "What is going on here?!"

"Enemy shinobi," one of them gasped. "And… and… Sa…"

She didn't get to finish the sentence because she fell over from exhaustion.

But they all knew what she was going to say.

The one unfinished word registered in their minds as they sprinted toward the main Uchiha compound.

_Sakura_.

"Sakura-chan!" Tenten cried at the sight of the girl.

Sakura, with a slightly hysterical gleam in her eye, stood with –

"Kaa-san's katanas…?" Sasuke muttered. Those were very unreliable; they hadn't been sharpened for years, and was a special type specifically designed for the Uchiha matriarch. It was more of an antique than a weapon.

Yet she was wielding it in a messy (but mostly correct) way. Her short, pink hair was messy, as if she had ran for a long time. Her kimono was ripped here and there, and her sleeves were completely torn off, revealing the bandaged area where Naruto's Rasengan had hit. Blood was seeping from her torso, also covered by a now crimson-colored bandage. Obviously, her wounds obtained from both the Chidori and Rasengan hadn't healed. Other than that, she sported many cuts, bruises, and a bloody lip.

A body lay in front of her, with many holes in his stomach and neck. Judging from the uniform and forehead protector, he was from Sound.

Sakura stood there, shaking, as the remaining ninja advanced toward her, wearing a feral expression.

"Sa-" Naruto started to say when a dark aura stopped him. Everyone, in fear and surprise, turned to the youngest Uchiha.

"Sasuke…?" Mikoto started hesitantly.

Sasuke, just like before, had his Sharingan activated, the three tomoes spinning in a slow, ominous way. The dark black flames were already covering half his body and were spreading rapidly. The purple-black chakra flared out with pure, raw power as Sasuke's face turned into a bloodthirsty expression of rage.

Everyone knew what was on his mind right now; his face told everything.

_Make them **pay**_.

-

-

So… um… it went kind of quickly…  
I didn't want to dwell on when Sasuke apologized (OOC, yes but… can't you believe he's in denial?) so I skipped right to when Sakura kicks ass.

Watch out for a **new story**… since everyone voted. Wait… did I ask in this story...? Whatever. It's too troublesome to post them up here now... but if you're interested in what I'm talking about (most of you probably aren't...) go to my profile and look up Upcoming fics/Fics I'm Considering and give me... two votes? One for the first four and one from the ItaSaku... for my dear reader-not-a-reviewer. Haha. But I'm not forcing you.

...Does anyone even look at the author's note at the end?


	8. Do you?

Thank my –insert school subject– teacher for my updating chapter 8.

God, (s)he's really nice and I really like –insert school subject– but (s)he can be a bitch sometimes. Seriously, I was chewing gum and (s)he caught me. Now, for other people, (s)he just goes "Spit it out" but at me, (s)he starts bitching and PMSing. And it was my only time.

ARGH, thank him/her for the (slightly) gory chapter. The rage directed at him/her really got me influenced to write a really good torture scene.

And there you have it. Gore alert. Also, I've decided to make Sakura's clan's bloodline limit different and use the SoD bloodlimit for Runaway Love. Sorry if this will cause any confusion later on.

Sorry if you're reading my ranting – you can just skip all the shit I say and go to the story, but it feels really good when you get it all out. I wonder why I don't have a psychiatrist yet, at this rate.

ANYWAY, sorry for the delay.

**o0 anim3-godd3ss 0o**: I'm sorry… is Sasuke too out of character? Damn, I have to admit, it's really hard to write those cold-blooded bastard types of people when they're in love and denial. Haha, why won't Sasuke just kiss Sakura? Denial can do that to a person. But don't worry, they'll get over it… eventually.

**BloodStainedTears778**: Are you serious…? _I'm _the first person you reviewed? That is a fricking honor, dude(ette). _I'm _a good writer? Damn, I suck compared to other people. But it makes me feel good inside, thanks!

**Gabbeh**: Gabbeh, even if you had left me a flame or something, I would've been surprised you reviewed for _my _fic. Seriously, I was checking my e-mails in the morning, and then it's like, FF Review Alert: Gabbeh. I choked on my spit, seriously. I was like, _Gabbeh_? _**The **Gabbeh?! _And I fell over and woke my sister up. And then got in trouble for doing computer at the early hours. And then at school, I ran up to my friend (who really likes your fics) and was like, "**_The_ Gabbeh reviewed for AiL!!!**" If I were the type, I would've told you I loved you. Um… and no, this isn't going to be tragedy… hopefully.

**SakuraGaara**: Is the bloodline limit going to be a good thing or a bad thing? Uh… both? I mean, it gets them into a lot of trouble… but brings them together.

**HPBabe91**: Um… -.-;;; did I give away _that _many spoilers? I'm sorry? Geez, I've got to practice keeping my mouth… or hands in this case shut. But seriously, your reviews make me feel less like crap. How do you do it? Your… hmm… kekkai genkai?

**Sasukes-girl08**: No, reading the author's notes does _not _make you a dork. But if it does, I'll join you in dorkhood!

And thank you** Kaze-Yume No Tenshi**, **once.a.star.always.a.star.**, **nlightnd**, **shadowriter318**, **lolsuzie**, **TenTenXIrista**, **furryhatlover2543**, **Aiyo Rei**, **Baby Acoustic**,** VcChick**,** Fuzzylove**, **shinjun9sasusaku**, **babybat61**, **icygirl2**, **secular clandestine**, **Von von**, **lanie-chan**, **xokatherine229**, **crescent moon at midnight**, **animeGRLxxx**, **SasukeEmoAvenger**, **sasusaku4life**, **Ur2tRoUbLeSoMe90**, **lilxcutexmonstah**, **kittygoesmeow**, **XcutelilninjaX**, **berry smoothie**, **FooFooCudlyPoops**, **lotusgirl3542**, **the real** **sasukelover**, **SweetAssassin**, **RadiantSun**, **Dark** **Angelx3**, **sakuraharuno-cherryblossom**, **popprinecess82**, **sights.unseen**, **liddoloner**, **inurdreams21**, **Arabella Sparrow**, **Hidden-Tigress88**, and **Sapphire Serenity** for reviewing and reading the author's notes.

Enjoy.

-

**A c c i d e n t a l l y i n L o v e**

**Summary**:AU) She worked as a servant for the Uchiha family. There, she catches the eye of a certain Uchiha, and both of them fall accidentally in love. (SasuSaku. NejiTen, ShikaIno, and NaruHina)

**Rating**: T (PG-13)

**Genre**: Romance/Drama

Standard disclaimer applied.

-

**Chapter 8: Do you? **

-

_Last time on AiL:_

_"Finally, home – what the _hell_?!" Ino changed what she was saying in mid-sentence._

_The gang, instead of parting for their own homes, all went toward the Uchiha compound because they wanted to see their favorite pink-haired teen._

_But instead of the beautiful gardens, mini ponds, and majestic exterior, they were greeted with trampled over flowers, overturned bridges, and cut off pieces of wood._

_There were also a few servants running, in an obvious attempt to find shelter. _

_"Stop!" Fugaku yelled to the hysterical servants. "What is going on here?!"_

_"Enemy shinobi," one of them gasped. "And… and… Sa…"_

_She didn't get to finish the sentence because she fell over from exhaustion. _

_But they all knew what she was going to say._

_The one unfinished word registered in their minds as they sprinted toward the main Uchiha compound._

Sakura.

_"Sakura-chan!" Tenten cried at the sight of the girl._

_Sakura, with a slightly hysterical gleam in her eye, stood with – _

_"Kaa-san's katanas…?" Sasuke muttered. Those were very unreliable; they hadn't been sharpened for years, and was a special type specifically designed for the Uchiha matriarch. It was more of an antique than a weapon. _

_Yet she was wielding it in a messy (but mostly correct) way. Her short, pink hair was messy, as if she had ran for a long time. Her kimono was ripped here and there, and her sleeves were completely torn off, revealing the bandaged area where Naruto's Rasengan had hit. Blood was seeping from her torso, also covered by a now crimson-colored bandage. Obviously, her wounds obtained from both the Chidori and Rasengan hadn't healed. Other than that, she sported many cuts, bruises, and a bloody lip._

_A body lay in front of her, with many holes in his stomach and neck. Judging from the uniform and forehead protector, he was from Sound._

_Sakura stood there, shaking, as the remaining ninja advanced toward her, wearing a feral expression._

"_Sa-" Naruto started to say when a dark aura stopped him. Everyone, in fear and surprise, turned to the youngest Uchiha._

_"Sasuke…?" Mikoto started hesitantly._

_Sasuke, just like before, had his Sharingan activated, the three tomoes spinning in a slow, ominous way. The dark black flames were already covering half his body and were spreading rapidly. The purple-black chakra flared out with pure, raw power as Sasuke's face turned into a bloodthirsty expression of rage._

_Everyone knew what was on his mind right now; his face told everything._

Make them **pay**.

-

"Itachi, take Sasuke and run," Mikoto whispered. _'If Sasuke loses control…'_

Slowly, Itachi nodded and tried to sneak up discreetly behind Sasuke to knock him out, but Sasuke, dark flame-like marks covering his body, spun around and bared his teeth in a snarl. "Don't you _dare_."

"Sasuke, you're losing control," Itachi said carefully. At this rate, Sasuke might even turn to Stage 2.

He hissed in response, his Sharingan growing more and more prominent in color. "They're _Sound_. They won't be merciful."

Itachi was silent. _'There's no stopping Sasuke now.'_

Sasuke lunged with a frightening roar, catching Sakura's attention.

Then, Ino cried out in shock when the Sound nin, using Sakura's distraction as an advantage, took a kunai and stabbed her in her right side.

-

-

Sakura had run in a random direction, but it had taken her into Mikoto-sama's study. She had shut the wooden sliding door quietly and had gone into a corner where they couldn't see her shadow through the paper sheets covering the wooden frames. She knew that it would only be a while before they found her. What was it again? Oh yeah, something about sensing her chakra.

It was really good that she had paid attention to the ninja terms her parents and friends had used occasionally around her.

Looking desperately around, she only saw books, expensive vases and paintings, and…

The slim, black handles of swords in bloodred scabbards, both with an Uchiha fan on it. They were hanging from the ceiling as if they were antiques.

She recognized them – they were… katanas? Yes, katanas.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping desperately that this was all a bad dream.

But when the door slid open, she knew it wasn't.

"C'mon," one of them grunted. "Let's just knock her out and go."

'_No! I will not let my fate end up like _this_!'_

Her eyes snapped open, and, letting out a small battle cry, ran up to one of the Sound nin and kneed him in his family jewels.

He let out a howl of pain and rage as he hunched over, blinded by the pain. Using the moment as a distraction, Sakura ran up to the wall and grabbed the katanas.

"GET HER!" The one she kneed howled.

She started running again, trying to take out the swords while still sprinting. Skidding to a halt in front of the servants' dining room, she screamed, "Someone get help while I distract them!"

Then, spotting the Sound nin, she started running at top speed again.

-

-

When she was sure that they were out of close proximity from the servants or from any person from that matter, she was trying to figure out how Tenten looked like when she was gripping her twin katanas.

'_Um… let's see… left foot in front? No… right…?'_

But the Sound nin gave her no time to try to figure out the correct posture; they were about 7 yards away from her.

One lunged, and before she knew it, something gooey splattered on her face.

She had somehow miraculously unsheathed one of the swords and had stabbed the tubbier nin with it. "Oh… my… God…" She wanted to throw up. The twitching, bleeding nin was still trying to move, and afraid, she let her primal, self-preserving instinct take over. Slowly, the bloody katana moved out of the near-dead Sound nin's abdomen with a disgusting squelch. Then, as if she had no control over her hand, her arm moved again and again, stabbing him in random placed until he was unmoving.

She felt her stomach churning as she stumbled back a step. Her hands shook and a cold sweat had broken out on her forehead. "Oh my…"

Then a frightening roar broke the dead silence of the other Sound nin, Koji. Sakura turned toward the source of the shout, and saw Sasuke. His bloodred eyes were more defined, the three commas spinning wildly, as black marks like flames covered his body like some intricate yet ominous tattoo.

Then, she felt something in her side.

_Splat._

_'Don't look down, don't look down, don't look – '_

She looked down.

A kunai was sticking out of her side, blood dripping down in almost a taunting manner.

Looking at all the blood made her dizzy, and the sting was getting more and more pronounced. Stiffly, she put a hand to her side and grasped the kunai. 

Ow.

Preparing for pain, she pulled it out. She gritted her teeth together to keep from crying out in pain, but she was feeling all floaty inside though the pain was getting worse.

But when she opened her eyes, she saw a dark blue shirt and black pants, and the rebellious, chicken-hair style of –

Sasuke.

He looked the same as he had been in the short trip to the forest. His teeth were bared in a feral snarl.

"Get… away… from… _her_!"

She watched with a different kind of sick feeling as he grasped the Sound nin's wrists, and with a sickening crack, broke them.

-

-

Sasuke prided himself in being a person that was cool, calm, and collected.

But something took over him when he saw _her_ on the ground, covered with blood with the most terrified expression he had seen.

_Let me help you… I'll give you power._

Usually, he'd fight back the serpentine voice but he really didn't know what took over him.

And the next thing he knew, he had broke the Sound nin's wrists, relishing the fact that the action produced very satisfying results.

"Get… away… from… _her_!"

And the Sound nin obeyed, stumbling back, eyes wide with horror.

"Are you proud of those hands?" Sasuke hissed. "You seemed that way a couple minutes ago. The hands that tried to harm an innocent girl. Well… I think those should go, along with the rest of you."

A thousand violent thoughts were already running through his head. _'Rip out his eyeballs, skin him then Katon him. Or you can hang him then cut him down when he's almost dead, rip open his stomach, and put in a couple hot coals in it. No, not good enough. He _will _pay in the most painful way possible.' _"I think you're jealous of your other teammate. He probably felt less pain than what you're going to feel later."

"Sasuke!"

He could hear the loud, almost frightened voice of Naruto.

"Sasuke, stop it!"

_'No,' _he found his inner demons saying to him. _'This filth over here needs to be taught a lesson.'_

"Sasuke, please, stop!"

Not even his parents could stop him.

"Sasuke, you're being irrational. Stop this foolishness _now_."

Not even his brother could stop him.

Not the Hyuuga, or Shikamaru, or any of them –

"Please, Sasuke-sama… stop… please… stop…"

Like in the forest, a pair of pale, slim arms made around his torso. Something wet was pressed against his back, and he realized it was her teary face.

"Please… stop…"

_He did wrong against her._

His inner demons were urging him to obtain revenge, but she was saying another thing.

"Please… stop."

_He deserves to die._

He fought against the rage that threatened to consume him.

Stop. Just for her. Only for her. Stop.

"Please…"

The dark marks receded and he found himself lowering his hands to grasp the fragile arms wrapped around him.

"He's fighting it!"

He was almost positive that was his mother, but he wasn't really sure it was.

The last mark disappeared, and he stumbled, taking Sakura down with him.

"The curse mark's gone! He fought it!"

"Shikamaru, go apprehend the Sound nin," Itachi was saying, taking charge of the situation. "Ino-san, go check up on Sakura-san and my brother. Naruto, go inform Tsunade-sama of this immediately."

"Sasuke-sama…"

He looked down at the pink-haired girl sitting on the bloodstained grass. She was holding her side.

That's right, he realized, she had gotten stabbed.

He sat down too; he was tired. But a little part of him was rejoicing. _'I fought it. I resisted…'_

Just for her. Only for her.

"Sasuke-sama…" Her green eyes were hazy from the dizziness and blood loss. "Thank you…"

Wasn't it ironic? He was supposed to be the one thanking her. _She _wasn't the one that lost control. _She _wasn't the one that turned to an evil means of power. _She _wasn't the one that was in perfectly fine health.

He didn't deserve her thanks. But it made him feel something weird inside. He dismissed it, shoving the foreign feeling into the back of his heart and mind. It was so hard, though. The box it was sealed in would probably reopen once more the moment he looked into those mesmerizing green eyes again.

"Aa," he muttered. "Get some rest."

And before he knew it, she had slumped, unconscious, in his arms. Since they were side-by-side, she had kind of tilted over so her head was on his arm, so he moved her so she was lying on the ground, her head on his lap. Idly, he fingered her short locks as Ino came over with glowing green hands. Even if she only knew the basics of medical ninjutsu, she was pretty good at it.

As Ino was healing Sakura, Sakura murmured something incomprehensible and snuggled closer to Sasuke, instinctively going toward a source of warmth. He stiffened but a couple minutes later, reached out and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

He missed the small smile on Ino's face.

-

-

"So… did he fess up yet?"

"Nothing." Shikamaru sighed. "That Sound nin is really stubborn. We'll have to try getting Ino to pry into his thoughts."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You _do _know that Sakura's in the hospital, in a coma because of that bastard."

"Ah, but Uchiha… why do you care? Last time I checked, she was nothing but a mere servant to you." Neji entered the ANBU captains' lounge with a truly curious expression on his face.

Sasuke stared at Neji blankly. _'Why _do_ I care so much?' _

"I don't know."

As Sasuke left, brooding on the question the pearl-eyed teen asked him, Shikamaru smiled slightly.

_'Sasuke, you were always the odd man out of all of us, even if you included Itachi-san – Itachi-san has Tsuki-san now. You'll understand soon…_

_...You're falling for Haruno Sakura.'_

-

-

"Fugaku, I'm telling you, she's not a normal girl."

The Uchiha patriarch's coal black eyes narrowed. "And how is that, Tsunade-sama?"

The woman grimaced and started presenting her proof to the stubborn Uchiha. "When she first came into the Uchiha household, she was nearing death from a weird type of poison, was she not?"

"…Yes." Fugaku frowned, remembering that day. "But how does that have to do with what you're asking me to do?"

"That poison – it's a very potent one that can kill a non-shinobi within minutes. Yet she survived _hours _and lived."

"Sakura may just be a bit different, luckier than others."

"Then tell me, how did she survive a direct hit from both Chidori and Rasengan at once?"

"…"

"Fugaku, I don't know why you're trying to deny the fact that Sakura's special," Mikoto said anxiously. "From what she can do in housecleaning, she's really… unique. She performs the hardest cleaning tasks without even breaking a sweat, and she's pretty headstrong. And don't you remember what she did at the restaurant? She broke one of the tables. With her bare hands. With chakra. She's a non-shinobi yet she replicated Tsunade-sama's strength without even knowing it."

"And she wielded a pair of twin katanas in a pretty accurate way, or so Tenten says. Plus, they were an Uchiha matriarch's sword set."

"Yes," Mikoto mused. "I noticed that earlier, when the servants were cleaning up the… mess. Sakura-chan must have found them and used them to defend herself."

"And she brought Sasuke back from cursed seal form?" Tsunade's voice was a little sharp at this and both Fugaku and Mikoto nodded. "So why won't you let me help?"

Again, the man was silent.

"Is it because…" The Godaime's voice grew softer. "Orochimaru?"

"Hokage-sama," Fugaku said bluntly. "It's widely known that Orochimaru wants the Sharingan. So helping Sakura will only heighten Orochimaru's interests in the Uchiha clan and its secrets. Not a lot of prestigious clans let mere servants become…"

"Orochimaru's not stupid, Fugaku," Tsunade snapped. "He knows things not many know. He knows Sakura has a hidden talent. He knows, so it's better if we teach her so she's at least a little prepared to face him."

"Hokage-sama –"

"Dammit, Uchiha!" Tsunade roared slamming her fists down on the table, causing it to creak a bit at the brute strength. "Don't you realize that Sakura and Sasuke might be the key to finally defeating him?!"

"How Sakura?" Mikoto asked a bit fearfully, dreading the blonde's temper.

"It's called love," Tsunade murmured. "Don't you see? Sasuke will kill for her. You saw yourself; he stopped when no one else's voice but Sakura's told him to. Don't you see? Sakura just might be…

...His _everything_…"

-

-

"Look, I don't want to make this harder than it already is –"

BAM.

Ino looked up from the interrogation, startled. "Sasuke, the sign says 'do not disturb'."

"I'll interrogate him," Sasuke said blandly.

The platinum-haired blonde raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? I'm supposed to be the one interrogating him right now, no one gave you an order."

"_I'll interrogate him_," Sasuke repeated in a dangerous tone. Even in the dim light, Ino saw the flickering of his eyes from a sharp black to an enticing, but dangerous bloodred.

"Fine, fine, but he's one stubborn bitch," she sighed. "I know you Uchihas are good at everything but I don't think you'll be able to break this one."

"You haven't seen anything," the Uchiha murmured. "Now get out."

Rolling her eyes at his demand, she exited. "I will obey, oh Mr. Great Uchiha. Seriously, I don't know _why _I had a crush on you when we were genins."

"Me neither," he muttered.

Ino decided to wait outside the door so that she wouldn't have to walk back to the interrogation room from the mall when Sasuke gave up.

But she was surprised when she heard agonized screams from the rooms. Sasuke definitely wasn't torturing the Sound nin _physically_, he had come in without any weapons.

She decided to barge in.

He was holding the Sound nin's head, staring directly into his eyes.

_Sharingan._

"All right! All right!" The Sound nin shrieked. "Please, just stop!"

"Hn." Sasuke broke eye contact but his red eyes stayed prominent. "Tell me."

"Orochimaru-sama just told me to retrieve the girl," the Sound nin rushed, but both Ino and Sasuke's trained ears could pick up everything. Also, Shikamaru was listening in from another room, recording the whole thing. "He said something about bait and mixing bloodlimits to produce an ultimate bloodlimit, but that's all I know, I swear!"

"Aa… you can feel at ease… for now." Sasuke gave the cowering Sound nin a disgusted look before walking out the door.

Ino followed; there was no point anymore in trying to get information about the now mentally unstable Sound nin anymore. "Gee, Sasuke. What kind of genjutsu did you put the guy under?"

Sasuke smirked almost sadistically. "You don't want to know." When his red eyes flashed to her, she instinctively, almost fearfully, looked away.

It was really never that good to anger an Uchiha, especially Uchiha Sasuke.

_'Sasuke, what does Sakura-chan mean to you? Are you… falling for her?'_

_'...__I hope so.'_

-

-

_Beep._

_'Ugh… where am I?'_

_Beep._

"Look! She's waking up!"

_Beep._

Her eyes opened slowly, trying to adjust to the sudden light.

_Beep._

"Naruto, move aside."

She opened her eyes fully and she bolted up, but –

She winced and bit her lip as the pain of the kunai wound came back to her. However, a hiss of pain escaped her chapped lips.

"Sakura, are you okay?"

Still shaking a bit because of the pain, she looked up into the amber orbs of the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade. "Yes… I think I am…"

The blonde woman smiled wryly. "Well, that's what everyone says when they first wake up."

"Sakura-channnnn!"

"Urusai, baka!" Tsunade growled as she hit the blonde teenager on the head. "This is a hospital, _kindly _keep quiet!"

Naruto whimpered in pain, rubbing the bruise on his head as his fiancée smiled at him shyly and patted him on the back.

"How long have I been here?"

"Four days," Ino said in almost a guilty voice. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I couldn't stay with you for a while, Shika-kun and I were assigned a mission and –"

"Wait… you all… stayed here…?"

Sakura took a good look around the room. Mikoto, Fugaku, Itachi, Tsuki, Naruto, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Neji, Tenten, and Sasuke. "You didn't… have to…"

"Sakura, do you mind if I asked you some questions?" Tsunade asked seriously.

"Tsunade-sama… she just woke up," Tenten said anxiously. "Is it good for her health if she –"

Tsunade held up her hand in a way that showed authority. "No, it's good if I asked her now." Her amber orbs searched Sakura's perplexed green ones. "Is it okay with you?"

"I – sure… I guess." Sakura stuttered. She didn't think she had a choice.

"Your last name is Haruno, right?"

Sakura nodded slowly. "Yes…" She didn't get where this was going.

"Is your family very large?"

"No…" Sakura frowned. "But I did meet a few cousins; that's it."

Tsunade jotted some things down on a notepad. "Are any of your family members very exceptional shinobi?"

At this, Sakura immediately shook her head but instantly regretted it. The sudden movement made her head throb – badly. "No. The highest rank a member of my family had was Jounin, but that's it."

"Hm… I see…" Tsunade's lips were pursed and Sakura saw Ino's worried face in the background. "Have you ever thought about being a kunoichi of Konoha?"

Sakura nodded – slowly this time. "Yes, but my parents didn't let me for some reason. I didn't want to displease them, so…"

Sakura saw realization dawn on Tsunade's unlined features. _'What does she look so enlightened about…?'_

"Well, Haruno Sakura…" Tsunade's voice seemed to grow louder and louder with power and happiness with each passing second. "Would you like to become a kunoichi under my tutelage?"

"A – what?" Hinata gasped as Sakura gaped too. Her wide eyes swept over her friends' and masters' expressions – they were surprised as well, well, maybe except Fugaku and Mikoto.

"A… kunoichi?" Sakura repeated weakly and Tsunade nodded.

-

-

-

Yeah, the ending of this chapter is a really crappy attempt at a cliffhanger. Oh well, as long as you guys liked the overall chapter, it's fine. Also, I'm really sorry about the (dot dot dot)s separating the Shikamaru, Tsunade, and Ino's thoughts. They were separated by a pretty large distance without the dots but in FF. net it won't seem to work.

And check out my other story, Father Figure – I'm not sure people like it a lot, so then I'd get started on Stranded in a Closet but I should make sure, just in case.

Yes, Sakura will finally (or maybe not) become a kunoichi. And something is going on with her family secrets. It's really a big puzzle right now but the pieces will be filled in sooner or later.


	9. Uncertainty

(Gasps) Another AiL update done?!

This one took me a while… since I haven't updated this story in such a long time, I've gotten… rusty. But I guess that's my fault.

I hope the quality of the chapter is still up to standard, though. I'd be devastated if people thought I was getting worse at writing.

Anyway, I've been really surprised by the feedback for chapter 8. How many reviews was that… 97 or so?

Holy mother.

One chapter, it was 57 reviews. And then… it skyrockets up to 97 reviews for chapter 8. I was so happy I think I cried. But then again, I know better than to raise my review expectations because… well… that's probably a one time thing. But I'm happy anyway.

So thank you **lolsuzie**, **icecandy74**, **Tishni**, **Snowharms**, **RadiantSun**, **DevilQueens**,** SARCASTIC-SQUIRREL**, **butaneng**, **ForgottenLovedOne**,** xxxemiko.itooshixxx**, **Cathy Santiel**, **Lady Lassa**, **Shocks19**, **XxsasusakuxX**, **sakura4594**,** SakuraROCKS**, **queenbee12345**, **TaimaHawk12**,** xSasuSakuLovex**, **isa18**, **shadow angel 101**, **SASUXSAKUFREAK**, **obsession4ever**, **Little Minamino**, **narutoluvin101**,** 'uniquegirl'**, **Von von**,** SweetKisses9**, **Popprincess82**,** PabloandDuck**, **Puppyeye1**, **feefee223**, **NatAngel-chan**, **lotusgirl3542**, **Ur2tRoUbLeSoMe90**,** Winter Thunder**, **Joey-Chan22**, **Kuroshixxx**, **velcroSUNSHINE**, **Freedomstar999**, **KaibaYamiLover**, **J x Legacy**, **Gabbeh**, **CriticalEnigma**, **CrAzY-SiLLy-Me**, **missyserena214**, **WiltedRose-x**, **danielie**, **animeforever24**, **inn0centdr3ameR**, **kittygoesmeow**, **RaiKimTomBoY**, **chocolateangel5**, **Shinkutsuki**, **Blue Tiger-chan**, **o0 anime-goddess 0o**, **phimlub3r**, **AkatsukiDEMONangel**, **Shadowsakura321**, **trident.gum**, **Minakui**, **-my-name-is-V-**, **sights.unseen**, **Sakura Uchhia**, **Sakura Angel 4eva**, **Sakura Angel 4eva**, **tru-viet**, **secular cladestine**, **Kawaii IceCream**, **XXDragonheart6XX**, **sakuragirl13579**, **larsha**, **-FoxAngel12-**,** hushhushyou**, **xXbunnyholicXx**, **crescent moon at midnight**, **sakurauchiha12**, **Yuki's Little Girl**, **SakuraGaara**, **Baby Acoustic**, **inurdreams21**, **whatadrag**, **RawrRemy**, **CherryBlossoms016**, **SasukeEmoAvenger**, **Jester08**, **animeGRLxxx**, **kunai24**, **SweetAssassin**, **Sasukes-girl08**, **the real sasukelover**, **TruePinay4eva**, **blackXpinksakura**, **xokatherine229**, **furryhatlover2543**, **HPBabe91**, **lilxcutexmonstah**, and **Dark Angelx3** for making me happy. If there's anyone I missed, I'm sorry.

-

**A c c i d e n t a l l y i n L o v e**

**Summary**:(AU) She worked as a servant for the Uchiha family. There, she catches the eye of a certain Uchiha, and both of them fall accidentally in love. (SasuSaku. NejiTen, ShikaIno, and NaruHina)

**Rating**: T (PG-13)

**Genre**: Romance/Drama

Standard disclaimer applied.

-

**Chapter 9: Uncertainty **

-

_Sakura saw realization dawn on Tsunade's unlined features. _'What does she look so enlightened about…?'

_"Well, Haruno Sakura…" Tsunade's voice seemed to grow louder and louder with power and happiness with each passing second. "Would you like to become a kunoichi under my tutelage?"_

_"A – what?" Hinata gasped as Sakura gaped too. Her wide eyes swept over her friends' and masters' expressions – they were surprised as well, well, maybe except Fugaku and Mikoto._

_"A… kunoichi?" Sakura repeated weakly and Tsunade nodded._

-

"Sakura, I can teach you how to break the ground with a mere pinky. Heal a gash in someone's stomach just by willing it to. Turn yourself into a weapon by concentrating. Manipulate people by concocting potions you've never dreamed of. You will become a magnificent kunoichi under my tutelage. So… do you accept?"

Sakura remained silent as Tsunade spoke, but she looked down at the needle sticking from her wrist when asked the question.

Naruto, mistaking Sakura's lack of talk for fear, said, "Aw, c'mon, Sakura-chan! Don't worry about bad guys, _I'll _protect you!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Dobe, you can't even protect yourself from stupidity."

"No."

Naruto blinked confusedly. "W-What? Sakura-chan… this is becoming the apprentice to _the _Tsunade-baachan!"

"No," Sakura said, more firmly this time.

"But… Sakura-chan… why? Didn't you say you wanted to be a kunoichi when you were younger?" Tenten asked.

Sakura kept her eyes on the crisp white hospital sheets. "I have a debt to pay back anyway. In these past few months, I've landed myself in the hospital more than a regular person. Besides, I kind of like working as a servant. It's simple, and I don't need to waste money for equipment and clothes and stuff."

"Sakura-chan…" Mikoto looked heartbroken. "We can support you in your studies. You don't have to _completely _desert us to learn the way of the ninja."

Sakura smiled reassuringly up at the rest of the people in the hospital room. "No… really. I guess being a kunoichi wasn't really what I was supposed to be."

"Sakura-san, we'll all be disappointed," Itachi said quietly and Tsuki nodded vigorously. "You show great potential, yet you deny it."

"I'm sorry if I let you down," Sakura murmured softly. "I didn't mean to."

"You don't need to say sorry to me," Itachi replied coolly.

"You're not going to take up Hokage-sama's offer."

She looked up at Sasuke, who hadn't spoken to her until now. Everyone looked disappointed and heartbroken, and she hadn't felt so bad. But his simple statement made her feel so, so guilty. "Er… yes, Sasuke-sama. I just don't think I'm fit to be a kunoichi."

He stared at her with those penetrating eyes of his for a long time. She fidgeted under his sharp gaze until he looked away with a "Hn".

She had never felt so bad in her whole life.

-

-

The next few days were like hell for Sakura. Everytime Sasuke passed her while she was going around cleaning and running errands for Mikoto, their eyes would meet and his would always pierce through hers, making her look away.

It had never felt so suffocating. Even her best friends were now too busy for her, either on missions or training who-knows-where.

So trying hard to forget what had happened to her a couple of days ago, she put a hundred and ten percent into her duties. Soon, over time, she slowly began to get weaker and weaker subtly. Her eyes got duller and duller gradually. Her reactions became slower. Her work seemed perfect but it was not as good as before. She seemed detached.

And as much as they'd like to deny it, they were worried about Sakura.

-

-

"It's like when her parents died and she was trying to keep it from us," Mikoto said worriedly to her husband.

"Sakura's a strong girl with a sense of duty for her village," Fugaku said sagely. "Leave her alone and give her some time. She's going to accept. It's inevitable."

"Sakura-san is strong," Itachi agreed quietly. "And I think I can help her make her decision, and her answer."

Mikoto cocked her head. "You have a plan…?"

The elder of the Uchiha brothers nodded. "Well… Father, Mother. I've been thinking…"

Mikoto's eyes lit up. "Are you going to propose to Tsuki-chan?"

Itachi blinked. He _swore _his mother was a psychic. Still keeping calm, he replied, "I know that not a lot of Uchiha clan members marry out of the clan, but no one in the clan really is… suitable."

His mother squealed. "Of _course_ I approve! It's so nice that you actually found someone for yourself! You know… when you were younger, your father and I had doubts of you getting married to anyone."

"How encouraging," Itachi murmured dryly, a hint of annoyance in his muted voice. His own parents doubted that he could get a love life. He then looked at his father, who smirked.

"Well… Tsuki-san is a fine kunoichi, she has potential… and she's a very well-rounded person."

And Itachi knew that was a yes.

"But son, how is this plan going to work?"

"Well… most of the people that are going to be invited are shinobi," Itachi explained, trying to use the least wordy sentences so he wouldn't have to speak as much (typical Uchiha anti-socialness). "If we can get all of them to talk to her about a career as a kunoichi, she's probably going to get tired of the nagging and give in."

"But… Sakura-chan is a very stubborn person," Mikoto said doubtfully. "And I doubt a couple of great shinobi are going to persuade her that life as a kunoichi is better than life as a servant for her."

Itachi shrugged. "It's worth a try."

-

-

By the next day, news of Koushoku Tsuki and Uchiha Itachi's engagement was the talk of all the people of the shinobi nations, and even lesser villages. It was rumored that Itachi, _the _Uchiha Itachi, had set up a romantic setting (yes, with the red roses and tall candles and moonlit dinner) and had proposed, on his knee, with a beautiful and expensive ring that was studded with rubies and diamonds.

Surprisingly, that rumor was (partially) true.

But the part about Itachi writing a heartfelt poem and reading it with much emotion to Tsuki was, sadly, wrong.

It was also rumored that Tsuki had squee-d in joy (much like an Itachi fangirl), flung her arms around him, and screamed "yes" over and over again until he had to shut her up by stuffing a meatball into her mouth.

That rumor was also (partially) true.

She hadn't squee-d in joy, or screamed "yes" over and over again. Instead, she had raised an eyebrow and asked if this was the best he can do with a proposal and Itachi, not liking the bashing of his male ego, had stuffed not one, but two meatballs into her mouth.

The day Uchiha Itachi and the future Uchiha Tsuki came out into public wearing identical engagement rings (with the diamonds and rubies) Uchiha Itachi's fangirls mourned, and then pledged to be loyal fangirls of Uchiha Sasuke.

And Sasuke had spent the whole day evading his newly converted fangirls teamed with his original fangirls and burning down trees in every training area he could get in to.

The good thing was that Sakura had become a little more alert and happy for Tsuki and Itachi. However, this did not help a bit because now that the Uchiha family was preparing for the wedding, all the servants were overworked.

But no matter how hectic things were, Haruno Sakura was still in the minds of almost everyone, but especially Uchiha Sasuke.

-

-

The wedding would take place on a large cliff overlooking the sea, a few miles from Konoha's border line. It would be a mix between the traditional wedding and a western one because Tsuki had joked to Itachi that he was defying the typical Uchiha tradition of marrying someone outside of the clan. Because this was the wedding of the eldest son of the leader of the prestigious Uchiha clan, there was no guest list, and everyone and anyone was allowed to witness the joining of Uchiha Itachi and Koushoku Tsuki.

The wedding seemed so surreal that Sakura thought she was dreaming. Aki, the manager of the Blooming Lotus bar that Sakura used to work at, led a black-and-crimson clad Tsuki down the near-thirty feet aisle and "handed her over" to Itachi.

Then they performed the sake ceremony, Tsuki trying desperately to hide a grin and Itachi wearing a rare half-smile that made his (former) fangirls want to object to the whole wedding between Itachi and Tsuki.

"You may now kiss the bride," the priest declared to the newlyweds after they had slipped on each other's wedding bands.

To everybody's surprise, Itachi grabbed Tsuki by the waist almost roughly, dipped her, and did what the priest told him to do.

The crowd, who was very quiet throughout the whole ceremony, suddenly burst into cheers. Naruto, who was timing the kiss, screamed, "Two minutes and thirty-two seconds!" after the two broke apart, Tsuki blushing furiously and Itachi smirking in a self-satisfied way.

-

-

The reception was just as fancy as the wedding ceremony. Tsuki had changed into a simpler, dull onyx-colored kimono with a golden obi, and Itachi had changed into his jounin garb.

And for some odd reason, random shinobi started approaching Sakura and started talking to her.

Kishimoto Rumiko introduced herself as a Jounin from Sunagakure and started chatting away. "Wow, that's a great kimono you've got there, Sakura-san. The black really complements your hair and the white cherry blossoms on the bottom give a nice feeling. Are you a kunoichi? You look like you'd be a good one."

Sakura politely thanked the Jounin from Sunagakure and told her that she was _not _a kunoichi, and slipped away from the talkative Suna kunoichi, but others managed to corner her and made small talk, discreetly making hints about her being a kunoichi.

But when Shirohana Rei of Kirigakure, the seventy-fifth shinobi to approach her, asked if Sakura was a kunoichi and started listing off the benefits of ninjahood, Sakura got fed up and was about to ask Rei what the hell was going on.

But she never got to.

Someone screamed from a few feet away. "SOUND NIN!!!"

-

-

Sasuke was impassively standing near the refreshments, preventing Naruto from spiking the drinks when he saw a head of pink hair.

It was Sakura, smiling and twisting a strand of her short hair. "No," she was saying uncomfortably. "I'm not."

_**'Maybe the plan really is working.'**_

He highly doubted that. He knew how stubborn she was. _'I think it's a bad idea to make this wedding accessible to anyone.'_

He felt uneasy. There was something wrong.

His dark eyes scanned through the throngs of people, searching for Itachi's face.

And his eyes met his brother's and the two siblings shared a quiet conversation.

They both knew something was amiss. Something wasn't right… Something…

And that something came from the lips of a daimyo's wife, who yelled with such a shrill fervor it was hard not to hear.

"SOUND NIN!"

He cursed loudly as chaos struck and everyone started panicking. Again? Who were they after this time…?

Him or Sakura?

"Find Sakura!" He shouted to his friends and fellow shinobi as he tore off his formal clothes to reveal his ninja attire. "Escort civilians to safety!"

He scanned the whole area again, while fighting off the many Sound shinobi, searching for a pink head. _'Dammit, why does she have to be so short?!'_

Although he had seen many revered and powerful shinobi from all over the world at the wedding, there were only a few and the rest were probably amateur ninja, probably genin or chuunin. And not only that but there were just too many civilians that there were not enough shinobi to guide everyone to safety.

He somehow ended up back to back with Shikamaru trying to fend off Sound nin from hurting a little child and her friends. "How many do you think?"

Shikamaru, understanding Sasuke's vague question, remained quiet for a couple seconds before replying readily. "I'd say about three to four hundred. Damn, that's a lot… and I estimate that we only have a hundred or two hundred shinobi here that are chuunin and up."

He frowned, cutting down another Sound shinobi, who was replaced by two more. "They're after…?"

"I don't know that," Shikamaru grunted, successfully strangling another enemy with his shadow. "Sakura is nowhere to be found. There might be a possibility that–"

"Hostage," Sasuke breathed. Shikamaru nodded grimly, slitting the throat of one of the endless horde of Sound nin, who gave a guttural rasp of pain.

"Seems like it, Sasuke. I told every shinobi I could see to bring a pink-haired girl to me but no one's come yet."

"…"

"Don't even think about looking for her, Sasuke." Shikamaru's voice was sharp and harsh. "If they're all here for you, it's better if you stay apart."

"…"

He heard the smile in the strategist's voice. "But then again, knowing you, you probably won't listen to me and would jump in to save the damsel in distress, am I correct?"

"Hn," he grunted, annoyed, finally getting fed up with the never ending line of Sound nin and finally performing a Katon jutsu.

"Sasuke…" Shikamaru sounded weary. "Don't be bigheaded."

The said teen rolled his eyes. "Shikamaru, as if I'm going to let these pesky weaklings hurt me."

"It's not what I mean," Shikamaru replied quietly. "That might not be the situation."

Sasuke smirked. "I'm an Uchiha."

Shikamaru sighed exasperatedly. "Typical. Just be careful."

"Hn."

As Sasuke practically vanished, Shikamaru shook his head. _'Troublesome. One of the Uchiha brothers is hopelessly in love with his servant yet he doesn't realize it.'_

-

-

She didn't know where she was. All she remembered was that after she heard someone scream "Sound nin", she felt pain on the back of her neck, and everything had gone black.

She didn't know where she was. But judging by the constant hiss of the water, she guessed that she was still somewhere on the cliff…

Or maybe in it?

It was like some sort of cave. She was tied up with some sort of glowy thin string.

_'Chakra strings.'_

She had seen Tenten manipulate her weapons and cut through things with nothing but the thin string and a bit of chakra. Sakura had always though chakra strings were cool.

Until now.

"Where am I?" She muttered aloud, struggling against the strings.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a rough, coarse voice said from the darkness. "It'll just be harder for you."

As if on cue, the strings around her tightened and she winced. "Who are you?"

"Don't talk," another voice commanded harshly.

She didn't listen. She knew there was a reason to why only she was kidnapped. After all, she wasn't some high ranking shinobi or anything. She was precious to them. "Why me?"

"I said to shut up," the rough voice snarled, and her bindings tightened even more, cutting her skin.

"Do you think he's going to come?" the other voice asked.

"Probably," the rough voice replied. "He cares about his _whore_."

A few guttural laughs echoed through the cave as Sakura seethed. "Excuse _me_? I'm no one's whore!"

As a reply, the bindings around her tightened again, and she felt something trickle down her arms – probably blood.

The chakra strings kept tightening around her ruthlessly, and she heard laughter around her.

Black dots of pain clouded her vision as she involuntarily cried out.

Suddenly, she heard a _whoosh _and she felt the chakra strings loosen.

"Let her go."

She wanted to scream at her savior to tell him that they knew he would come, that he should just leave; he was worth more than her.

But she was relieved. Even if his voice was dangerously soft, a cobra's hiss, she felt at ease. Even though she knew that if she turned her head, he would be there standing menacingly, his katana unsheathed, she was relieved. Even if she didn't like the purple-black aura surrounding him, black flame-like markings decorating his body, she knew that he was there to protect her.

"Finally, I thought you'd never come… Uchiha Sasuke." The owner of the coarse voice sounded gleeful.

"Let her go." His bloodred eyes were spinning rapidly, his katana half out of its sheath. "Or you will pay."

"I see you're using Orochimaru-sama's gift unabashedly. You never came to thank him though."

Sasuke's soft voice was void of emotion. "I don't need to thank him for anything. Why are you still coming after me? I've rejected his offer, and that's final."

The captor who was talking with Sasuke finally appeared out of the shadows, a tall ninja with cropped hair. "Not so fast," he rasped.

She felt the cool blade of a katana against her throat, and other numerous weapons pressed against every inch of her body. The other Sound nin had also shown themselves, also threatening Sakura with the prospect of being cut up. Her eyes widened as the flat end of the katana put pressure on her windpipe, and she gasped quietly from lack of air.

Red eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Not one move, Uchiha." This voice was softer. "We have no desire to hurt her. If you come with us peacefully, the girl will go free."

"…"

Sakura could see that Sasuke was reconsidering. _'No! Don't you dare say yes!'_

"Fine."

Her eyes widened as he deactivated his kekkei genkai and she blurted out the words she had screamed inside her head.

This earned her a nice cut on the arm.

"Be quiet, Sakura," Sasuke ordered quietly. "Run away."

As he stepped forward and let himself be bound by chakra strings, the weapons pressed against her withdrew.

"Run."

And she did.

-

-

Sasuke watched her retreating back, and saw her look back once with pure, unadulterated terror in her eyes.

She never stopped running.

When she was out of the cave, he was backhanded with much force that he thought that he was going to be bruised forever.

"Ryuu," a voice warned.

"I know," Ryuu grunted back. "But this is revenge for what he did to my brother."

_The Sound nin he had nearly killed a week ago._

He didn't retaliate. He knew that as long as he kept stalling, there was a better chance of her getting help.

He remained limp, his eyes blank as he got beat around. Somewhere in the process, his hitai-ate loosened and fell off his forehead. He heard the dull clatter on the floor, but a harsh kick to the ribs distracted his attention.

"St-Stop!"

Sakura was at the opening of the cave, hands on knees, panting from lack of oxygen. "Stop it!"

_'Stupid girl.' _"I told you to run," he snarled impatiently, wiping blood off the corner of his mouth.

Her lips quivered and her green eyes filled with tears. "I-I couldn't just leave you…" She took a step forward, and surprisingly, the Sound nin stepped back as if anticipating her next move.

"No." He snapped. "Stay back. I will only accept help from a fellow shinobi." He refused to be helped by someone who wasn't in his profession – help from a servant? No way in _hell_.

"But…"

"Look," he replied bitterly. "If you're going to help me, then…"

He didn't need to finish, she understood. Her eyes flickered from his battered form to his hitai-ate, lying on the ground. She bit her bottom lip, a habit she put into action when she was nervous or scared.

With shaking hands, she reached down and picked up his hitai-ate…

…and tied it around her own forehead.

He smiled, just a tiny upward quirk of his lips. _'Finally.'_

He stood up from the ground and handed her a kunai while he unsheathed his sword. "Let's go."

-

-

In the midst of the pandemonium in the wedding, a long-haired man smirked, some of the skin on his face peeling off to reveal glinting gold-yellow eyes. The illusion of a civilian next to him vanished and a gray-haired man with glasses appeared, smirking.

"She has decided to become a kunoichi."

The long-haired man smirked in a self-satisfied way.

…

…

…

"All according to the plan… excellent…"

-

-

-

Okay, I've got to tell you about this great site. It's called Way of the Ninja.

**www(dot)wayoftheninja(dot)org**

It's an awesome Naruto fansite with great people and great ideas. Mind you, it's a fairly new site and we only have four hundred members. I think there's another site trying to copy off us.

At first, WOTN doesn't seem like much but we have a goal – to make our own site manga and plotline. We are currently working our asses off to whip up a masterpiece, and if you want to join, please do!

Oh, and my username on WOTN is **death-chan**. If you decide to join (and you are very smart for joining, then) you can always PM me saying your penname on FFN and I can always help you around and tell the people there to be nice to you.

Or you can always PM punkfilter (the creator of WOTN) saying that death-chan referred you.

You're really missing out on a lot if you don't join, we're different than all the other fansites and it's more than meets the eye. But until then, I hope you guys enjoyed chapter 9.


	10. I, Kunoichi

Chapter 10 up.

Enjoy.

-

**A c c i d e n t a l l y i n L o v e**

**Summary**:AU) She worked as a servant for the Uchiha family. There, she catches the eye of a certain Uchiha, and both of them fall accidentally in love. (SasuSaku. NejiTen, ShikaIno, and NaruHina)

**Rating**: T (PG-13)

**Genre**: Romance/Drama

Standard disclaimer applied.

-

**Chapter 10: I, Kunoichi **

-

_Her lips quivered and her green eyes filled with tears. "I-I couldn't just leave you…" She took a step forward, and surprisingly, the Sound nin stepped back as if anticipating her next move._

_"No." He snapped. "Stay back. I will only accept help from a fellow shinobi." He refused to be helped by someone who wasn't in his profession – help from a servant? No way in _hell

_"But…"_

_"Look," he replied bitterly. "If you're going to help me, then…"_

_He didn't need to finish, she understood. Her eyes flickered from his battered form to his hitai-ate, lying on the ground. She bit her bottom lip, a habit she put into action when she was nervous or scared. _

_With shaking hands, she reached down and picked up his hitai-ate…_

_…and tied it around her own forehead._

_He smiled, just a tiny upward quirk of his lips. _'Finally.'

_He stood up from the ground and handed her a kunai while he unsheathed his sword. "Let's go."_

_-_

_-_

_In the midst of the pandemonium in the wedding, a long-haired man smirked, some of the skin on his face peeling off to reveal glinting gold-yellow eyes. The illusion of a civilian next to him vanished and a gray-haired man with glasses appeared, smirking._

_"She has decided to become a kunoichi."_

_The long-haired man smirked in a self-satisfied way._

_…_

_…_

_…_

_"All according to the plan… excellent…"_

_-_

"Get them!" the Sound ninja snarled. Heeding the nin's words, the other opponent shinobi ran at the two.

Easily, effortlessly, Sasuke slashed through the air and sent electricity flying toward them.

They fell back, badly electrocuted.

"Listen to me," Sasuke said to Sakura, who ducked from an oncoming kunai. "This cliff has virtually no hand holds. There is no way an amateur can climb up. The only way to escape is to fall into the water first."

Sakura nodded, halfheartedly slashing at an enemy nin and closing her eyes at the sight of the blood.

"We don't need to kill all of them," the Uchiha said in an undertone. "Just stay close to me."

Slowly, they let themselves be driven closer and closer to the edge of the cave.

"Wait!" Another enemy ninja shouted. "Don't let them escape–"

Too late. Sasuke had already wrapped an arm around Sakura's waist and blown a huge fireball into the interior of the cave. The two were thrown back by the force, and they flew out of the mouth of the cave, plummeting into the cold water.

There was a little drawback, however. Sakura, who was wearing a kimono, was being dragged down into the water.

Sasuke had already resurfaced, gasping for air. However… where was…

"Shit," he swore, taking a deep breath and diving into the water once more.

Underwater, he activated his Sharingan and let a thin coat of chakra protect his eyes from the water.

He swam carefully, letting his eyes take in everything… looking…

There. She was about ten feet from him, her hair undone. Damn, her eyes were closed. Quickly, he swam toward her and tried dragging her upward.

She wouldn't budge.

"Damn," he tried saying, but only a couple of bubbles escaped from his mouth.

He had no choice. Fighting a blush down, he used his Kusanagi to cut her obi and removed the first couple of layers to her kimono. To keep it together, he used his hitai-ate on her forehead and tied it around her waist.

After a considerable amount of clothing had been removed from her, it was easier to drag her upward.

He finally resurfaced with Sakura, who was choking. Though Sasuke had taken a considerable amount of clothing off of Sakura, she was still hindering him. In a second, they'd be going down into the water again.

And they did.

Once again, they were surrounded by nothing but the cold water, bubbles streaming out of their mouths.

_'Katon... Goukyakku no Jutsu.'_

The sheer power of the fireball shooting down into the water shot both him and Sakura up into the hair.

"There they are!"

His eyes were still bleary, and his hands were wrapped around her waist to keep her clothes from falling apart. The cliff, where all the festivities were being held, was just too far...

"I've got him."

And Uchiha Sasuke never thought that he'd be so overjoyed to hear Sabaku no Gaara's voice. He felt the soft sand forming underneath him and Sakura, making a platform. His muscles and nerves, knowing what the sand could do, screamed in protest, to jump off the sand, but he resisted the instinctive urge.

And then he was on the ground (was it Ino that had pushed him down?), Ino working to return his body temperature to normal, to fish all the water out of his lungs...

"Haruno," he croaked.

"She's safe," Ino replied tearfully, removing her hands from his chest and collapsing into the arms of a waiting Shikamaru. "Tsunade-sama's taking care of her."

He turned his head and saw the Hokage personally tending to the girl.

"Sasuke," Shikamaru suddenly appeared in his range of vision. "What happened?"

He looked into Shikamaru's eyes. "She's a kunoichi."

-

-

"You're doing well! Now, push some chakra into the brain – no, that's too much, you don't want to overwhelm it – yes, good."

The large fish jumped to life, slapping its tail fin into a surprised Haruno Sakura's face.

Grinning, Tsunade picked up the fish effortlessly and dumped in into the tank. "Excellent, Sakura! Excellent!"

Wiping a thin layer of sweat from her forehead, Sakura smiled tiredly. "Thank you so much, Tsunade-sama."

The blonde smiled back at her student. _'That girl, she's a medical prodigy.' _

"I have to go back, I have my chores to do, Tsunade-sama," Sakura was saying, jolting Tsunade back to reality.

The woman dismissed the young teenager with a wave of her hand. "Go ahead. Same time tomorrow, okay?"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," Sakura replied dutifully, leaping out of the window gracefully.

Tsunade sank into her chair and sipped at the cup of tea that Shizune had provided her with at the beginning of Sakura's lesson.

"That Sakura will make a great kunoichi," Tsunade sighed contentedly. It had only been two months and Sakura had already learned the basic ninja arts and was already progressing quickly through Tsunade's rigorous medical training program. She had shown a great aptitude for genjutsu and chakra control.

She looked out the window. _'It's like another... us.'_

And she was left alone to let the past consume her in the little moment of weakness.

-

-

Haruno Sakura.

Age seventeen.

Green eyes and short pink hair.

Servant of the Uchiha family.

Kunoichi.

When the news of Sakura becoming a kunoichi spread throughout the Uchiha turf, and eventually the whole village of Konoha, there was a full-blown scandal. For the first couple of week, Sakura had always been the center of gossip and fingers, people whispering about how she messed around with the younger Uchiha to retain her job as a maid while still receiving kunoichi training.

However, her friends stuck with her to the end. Wherever she went, she was always flanked by at least two of her friends and sometimes even Sasuke himself.

But she wasn't the only servant in the Uchiha household. Even as she used to do chores, the more prying and gossiping maids tended to shoot her scornful or even jealous glances/glares.

And frankly, Sakura was getting sick of it.

Even as Sakura retreated to her cot in the servants' quarters, to change into her uniform, she still got weird looks. Though Tenten had advised Sakura to keep her cool and just ignore them, it was kind of hard to do when Watanabe Ami was sitting in her cot.

"Ami-san," Sakura said calmly (or at least tried to), "You're sitting in my cot."

"That I am," Ami replied snottily.

"Can you please get off? I'm going to be late for my chores."

"Just leave Sakura-chan alone, Ami," one of the nicer and older servants called out impatiently.

Ami ignored the other servant and kept her eyes on Sakura, looking her up and down. "I don't see what Sasuke-sama sees in you."

Sakura blinked. "What do you mean?" _**'Damned girl, you have ten seconds to get off my bed, stop crinkling my uniform, and get the hell out of here before I reveal what I've learned early. Ten...'**_

"I mean, you're so scrawny!"

_**'Nine...'**_

"And look at your pink hair. I mean, c'mon, pink?!

_**'Eight...'**_

"And you have _no _body at all."

_**'Seven...'**_

Unconsciously, Sakura altered her normal standing position to a fighting one, both her knees bent at a tiny angle and the right leg behind the left.

It was an action that went unnoticed to Ami, who was still listing off Sakura's "flaws". However, the few servants that had a bit of actual experience as kunoichi watched, bemused. After all, Ami was just one of those fangirls that had applied for a job because of Uchiha Sasuke.

"You probably can't even fight as a kunoichi for your life..."

_**'Zero. Screw this.'**_

The muscles in her thighs and calves stiffened as Sakura readied herself to pivot on her left heel and swing her right leg around three hundred and sixty degrees for a spinning kick, and–

"Sakura-chaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!"

But it was Uzumaki Naruto that had flown through the open window where Sakura was facing Ami, and it was Uzumaki Naruto that had met Haruno Sakura's heel, flying at 40 miles per hour.

Silence.

"Geez Sakura-chan, that's a killer spinning kick," Naruto's muffled voice came from the bed he had been thrown into by the power of Sakura's kick.

"Ohmygosh, Naruto, I'm so sorry!" Sakura exclaimed, leaving a shocked looking Ami and running over to the blonde struggling to sit in the bed. Gently she laid a hand on his cheek, utilizing what she had learned from her mentor. Almost immediately, a soothing green medicinal chakra spilled from her hand and Naruto's swollen and bruised cheek returned to its normal state.

Naruto grinned impishly. "A millimeter higher and you would've broken my cheekbone!"

"That's not a good thing, Naruto," Sakura scolded.

"Just be glad that you didn't kick any higher," someone drawled from the doorway. "The dobe has enough brain damage as it is."

"Sasuke-sama!" Ami snapped out of her shock and, disregarding the giggling maids, ran up to Sasuke and grabbed his arm. "She... She tried to kick me!"

Sasuke didn't even blink. "And she kicked the dobe."

"But... she tried to–"

"She obviously felt my chakra signature, Ami!" Naruto said cheerfully. "Tsunade-baa-chan's been going off about how perfect Sakura-chan's chakra control is!"

Sasuke snorted and easily stepped forward with a powerful stride, shaking Ami's arm off. "Sakura, you have a mission."

The said teenager blinked. "Me? But..."

Sasuke shrugged. "Tsunade told be to bring you to the training grounds."

Naruto grinned cheerfully. "Not to worry, Sakura-chan! You're going on a mission with us!"

-

-

"You're here," Tsunade said briskly upon the arrival of the three teenagers. "I'm giving you a mission."

"But Tsunade-sama, I'm an inexperienced– "

Tsunade raised a hand and Sakura stopped talking. "That's why I'm assigning Uchiha and the loudmouthed idiot to be your partners. And your team leader will be... hey, where's that guy?"

"You mean Kakashi," Sasuke deadpanned.

"You called?"

"YOU'RE LATE, KAKASHI-SENSEI!!!"

The man appeared in a puff of smoke, his eye covered with his hitai-ate and a mask covering half of his face. Sakura found it odd that a shinobi could be reading while on a mission, she assumed that he was a powerful jounin that taught Sasuke and Naruto when they were genin.

"Yo, Sasuke and Naruto." A hand was raised lazily in greeting, and then the lone eye landed on Sakura. "Ah, and you must be Haruno Sakura, the final member of Team 7. It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Hatake Kakashi."

"Glad to meet you," Sakura fumbled with her words as she shook Kakashi's outstretched hand.

"Yeesh, why do you greet her so nicely?" Naruto grumbled irately. "When you first met us, you told us you didn't like us."

"That was because you dropped an eraser on top of his head," Sasuke said flatly. "Moron."

"Teme!"

"Yes, they'd go at it forever if they could," Kakashi said amiably, completely ignoring the boys' bickering.

"Enough!" Tsunade roared at Sasuke and Naruto, a muscle jumping in her jaw. "You, the ones with more experience as shinobi, can't even behave yourselves in front of Sakura?!"

There was no reaction from Kakashi except for a chuckle and the flipping of the page of his suspicious-looking orange book. Sasuke "hn"-ed and fell silent while Naruto stuck his tongue out at Tsunade, who promptly whacked him over the head.

"So what's the mission?" Sasuke asked impassively.

Tsunade looked up at the sky briefly. "The Chuunin exams. I want you three – four – to be proctors."

-

-

"Wooooooooooow!" Naruto's stretched the three-letter word so that it lasted maybe a minute in Sakura's head. "Is it me or did this place get really small?"

Sakura blinked, not knowing what Naruto was talking about. "We're supposed to go to the third floor to talk to a Morino Ibiki..." She looked up at the sign with the number three engraved in it and squinted. "But..."

"Yeah," Sasuke muttered. "It's a genjutsu. There's another entrance so that the participants won't get too suspicious."

The slipped quietly past the children, without attracting any attention. Even Naruto, who had a knack for making noise with everything he did, remained stealthy until the three of them had gotten through the door.

"Hey! Naruto! Haven't seen you in a while!"

Sakura was stunned by the sheer size of the man with the trench coat and head covering. His scarred face was twisted by a large grin of pleasure. "And Uchiha too! And who's this...? You mean the one that Tsunade-sama's training?"

It sounded as if he was completely ignoring her, and Inner Sakura seethed. Mustering up all her courage, she stepped forward and offered Ibiki a smile. "It's nice to meet you Ibiki-san. My name is Haruno Sakura, and it's a pleasure to work with you."

Ibiki let out a laugh. "It'll be nice working with you too, Haruno Sakura."

-

-

"Man, I look so uncool in this uniform!" Naruto whined. He had made a vain effort to save himself for the traditional proctor uniform but Ibiki would have none of that.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, looking as nice as ever in the dark color of the uniform.

Sakura smiled gently. "It's not that bad, Naruto. It'll only be for the duration of the exam."

"But that's a long time!" Naruto protested.

"God, dobe, shut up. We're supposed to stay quiet and wait for Ibiki's signal," Sasuke snapped.

Naruto mumbled an obscenity.

"S-Sakura-chan...?"

Naruto blinked. "Hinata-chan! What're you doing here?!"

The Hyuuga heiress fumbled over her words and fidgeted. "I volunteered s-since everyone else has a... a m-mission."

Naruto grinned in an almost drunken manner while looping an arm around her shoulders. "Well then, I can have Hinata-chan all to myself while Sasuke-teme can have Sakura-chan!"

This earned a blush, a flash of the Sharingan, and a smack over the head.

"TEMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Shh, N-Naruto-kun... it's time."

-

-

The first part of the Chuunin Exams were taking place, and Sakura leaned back lazily in her chair.

_**'It is sooooooo boring. Hey, did that genin just...?'**_

_'Yeah... should... I...?'_

But Sasuke caught Sakura's eye and tilted his head toward the genin she had been watching closely.

Morino Ibiki's words echoed in her head.

_"If you know for sure, then go for it. As a proctor, you're always right."_

Sakura shivered in fear as she remembered how he had said this with a smirk.

_'Well... what the hell.'_

She grimaced, setting her facial expression into one of a bored conviction, she hoped. And then, she quickly ran so that it'd only appear like a flash.

Since the genin was sitting at the edge, she leaned on the edge of the table, her hand on the middle of his paper so that he could not write anymore. "Three strikes, you're out," she drawled.

-

-

Sasuke watched as Sakura disappeared from the seat next to him and appeared once more, this time at the edge of the table. She regarded the genin with a displeased boredom, her short pink hair falling in front of her face, her gloved hand on the genin's paper.

"Three strikes, you're out."

This genin was the first to get caught cheating, so it seemed as if all activity in the examination room had stopped and the center of attention was on Sakura and the Mist genin that was regarding her with something akin to anger and nervousness.

"What?"

"You heard me. Three strikes and you're out." Sakura sounded very confident for someone who was very self conscious of her experience as a shinobi.

"You can't prove anything," the genin snarled defiantly.

"Please," Sakura snorted. "It was kind of obvious by your movement that you were copying off _that _kid." She pointed to the genin in front of him. "Your eye and head movement was your downfall. Tough luck, maybe next time."

The Mist genin's eyes narrowed. "Don't go around running your mouth off, you have no experience either, _Haruno Sakura_."

She froze for a split second, which the Mist nin took to let out a yell and lunge at her.

And Sasuke's eyes flashed dangerously as he made a movement, but Ibiki's pointed stare stopped him.

_**'Look, we don't need to do anything, she's got it under control.'**_

And he watched as Haruno Sakura, servant, became Haruno Sakura, kunoichi.

-

-

Time seemed to slow down as the Mist genin lunged at her, and she remembered her training with Tsunade.

He was lunging to his left, where she was. Numbly, without even realizing it, she shifted all her weight to her left leg as her left knee bent into a back stance. She also bent down to the left, her left hand sweeping the ground for balance as her right leg shot up into the air, bending at the knee. Her hook kick stopped a millimeter from the genin's cheekbone.

Slowly, she brought her foot down and, aware of the silent crowd, straightened. "Get it? Now get out."

-

-

"Wow, that was kickass, Sakura-chan!"

They were sitting in a separate room. The first part was over, and they had thinned out the participant number considerably. After Sakura had shown no remorse for the genin that had stumbled out with his team, still in shock, the other participants that got caught cheating made no effort to resist.

Ibiki had dismissed them before the proctor of the second exam got there, so Sakura had no idea of who was going to be in charge for the second exam. However, they still had duties as extra helpers for the exams, so Sakura assumed that they'd be getting more of the Mitarashi Anko Naruto was ranting about.

Sakura smiled at Naruto. "Thank you, Naruto. And thank you for almost standing up for me, Sasuke-sama."

So she _had _seen that small movement of his. He set his face into a grimace. "Hn."

She smiled at him.

And today, his usually throbbing curse seal throbbed with less force. The shadows of the room seemed to have been driven away.

And Orochimaru and the curse seal did not haunt him that night.

-

-

-

Once upon a time, death's internet died and she decided to abandon Wayoftheninja for the day and write a bit. 9 pages in a couple of hours, maybe a bit of food in between. Not to shabby, ne?

But see, death was supposed to update six days ago because she promised **VWaterlily **that she would update and it is all thanks to **VWaterlily **for PM-ing death on Wayoftheninja after she forgot to update, giving death a helluva guilt trip.

So, thank you to **kumori dokuro, Cute-Killer-Gurl, Jo-yi, SeyWho, I love hershey, Da Cute Snowbunny, pink-pretty-princess-, xo M i M i, Lavender Geisha, narutocraze1233, XoSasuSakuSonAmyXo, shattered crystal heart, it'sSAOVADY, xCats4everx, Cookie Yuki, SakiraUchiha, KoolKittyKat256, BuBBly CaNis luPus, whitedeathangel03, ohemg33kellz, just a tool a lifeless puppet, Sakura-Girl 2005, dark Alley, neon kun, Amy Sanger, ShinobiOfTheDarkness, Water Queen 14, Ribs On The Run, -AbreezeofSakuraandSnow-, ForgottenLovedOne, NekoGrafic, Manga-Fanatic, teen titan girl, IllogicalFanfics, Rah794, xXbunnyholicXx, Ur2tRoUbLeSoMe90, Master Keto, Depressing Truths, Rae Ahn Mae, Shubaltz crazist, CherryBlossomAvenger, CalwynN.D.Forever, Winter Thunder, TakemenowTish, SweetKisses9, Pinkish-Bluish, asianangelgirl, Wingless-Crying-Angel, nlightnd, J.a.M.i.16, lacusclien4, Laura-chan, inurdreams21, SnowCharms, Neitzarr, french cries, gaarafaves, TaimaHawk12, CherryBlossoms016, Kawaii IceCream, Bored Konoha Kunoichi, ihearttoast09, XXRedWolfXX, Princess of drama, Freedomstar999, x 33 3alex, petite.ina, Aoi Hana9, Shinkutsuki, SasuSaku4eva18, o0 anime-goddess 0o, reader ninja, Pink Shinobi, Maylin Haruna, eleanaleone, lolsuzie, -my-name-is-V-, Nature Light, SakuraGaara, sweetcherry99, shinobihime, silentnightmares18, missyserena214, Sakura-chan1345, xokatherine229, Jester08, Co0kIeS-n-CrEAm, frienz4ever,m obliviously, furryhatlover2543, shadowriter318, and Pink Crescent Moon **for reviewing for chapter 9 and for waiting patiently for this worthless story.

Until next time!


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